But the effect on libraries of the possible rejection of the treaty by the French hasn't appeared too much in the library literature. I thought it wouldn't hurt to suggest some of the more dramatic consequences. A walk through the museum gives a complete introduction to the history of the print medium. This is perhaps the finest such museum outside Antwerp. Which brings us to the point of Maastricht and the French vote on the treaty next week.
Cultural exchanges are the life-blood of a museum like the one which they have here in Lyon.
Cultural property rules, a mess at the best of times, stand to be considerably simplified and loosened under work now being undertaken in Brussels. With the failure of Maastricht, much of this growing ease of cultural exchange would be in jeopardy. If that isn't convincing, take the case of a large French public library, busily engaged in library automation. Coordination, if not actual centralisation, at Brussels perhaps would provide a check on the babble of networked information standards which might result if each local library were to go its own way, as each could do given the availability of computers and software and government support here now. The idea is that national groups are mere custodians of such great collections for a global user public, and thus should take extra special care.