Zentralblatt MATH as a European Activity

The overall goal is to improve the facilities of the "European Database in Mathematics" with Zentralblatt MATH as its core, to transform Zentralblatt within this framework to a distributed European activity (see the LIMES - Project), and to improve and widen the access to Zentralblatt for European countries by providing structures for a better distribution on the technical and on the economical level.

Initial steps into the direction of the European extension have been initiated through a bilateral German-French co-operation (CNRS/Université Grenoble) on software development and support, distribution of the database in France, and by a series of co-operations between German and Middle/East-European academic institutions (Hungary, Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine et al.).

About 13 servers of various types currently exist. Broader and improved access to the database via national access nodes and new data distribution methods are currently under discussion.
In particular, improvements of access are planned for isolated universities in regions under economic difficulties and in associated states of Central and Eastern Europe where a mathematical tradition of excellence is under economic threat.
Stimulation of usage for all kinds of research as well as for funding organisations before decision making is achieved by initial trial accounts. Improved coverage and evaluation of European research literature is planned via nationally distributed editorial units, and the development of new technologies for efficient database production.These activities are supervised by a European advisory board (under the auspices of the EMS), in close coordination with other European information activities (like FIZ, European publishers etc.).