The aim of the publications of the French School at Athens is to publicize the research carried out by the institution and its partners amongst the scientific community and a wider readership. With the two-fold aim that the publications can be:
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read everywhere, all the time and by everyone,
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easily accessed, on a large scale.
Digital publishing, organised to work with and not against "classic publishing", gave the French School at Athens, at an early stage, the ability to adapt to all forms of reading, and to develop new ways of exploiting its editorial achievements, and distributing its works on new platforms – right up to today, when the school continues to explore new formats.
Digital libraries
Digitization and access to documentary corpora and collections is a major challenge for scientific communities. Researchers need quality content, accessible in digital form that they can exploit and research using tools that allow them not only to consult documents but also to handle and extract data.
The French School at Athens embarked on this process of digitizing works very early on, inaugurating, in 2003, a digital library that gives access to all of its publications: CEFAEL, for the Collections of the French School at Athens online. This site brings together all the works published by the institution from 1877 until 2000 (chronicles, journals and monographs). It is the first portal for electronic publications on Greek studies: more than 500 volumes, or 250,000 pages. CEFAEL constitutes a scientific heritage of more than 150 years of research on the Greek world, a sum of research produced in the great tradition of scholarship bringing together more than 1100 authors.
Within the framework of the promotion of its publications, and better structuring and visibility of its research, the French School at Athens is partnering, with Persée, to digitize and upload (https://www.persee.fr/collection/bch) all the issues of its journals from 1877 to 2010. In August 2019, the embargo was moved to 2014.
The French School at Athens embarked on this process of digitizing works very early on, inaugurating, in 2003, a digital library that gives access to all of its publications: CEFAEL, for the Collections of the French School at Athens online. This site brings together all the works published by the institution from 1877 until 2000 (chronicles, journals and monographs). It is the first portal for electronic publications on Greek studies: more than 500 volumes, or 250,000 pages. CEFAEL constitutes a scientific heritage of more than 150 years of research on the Greek world, a sum of research produced in the great tradition of scholarship bringing together more than 1100 authors.
Within the framework of the promotion of its publications, and better structuring and visibility of its research, the French School at Athens is partnering, with Persée, to digitize and upload (https://www.persee.fr/collection/bch) all the issues of its journals from 1877 to 2010. In August 2019, the embargo was moved to 2014.
Digital publications
The Chronique des fouilles en ligne / Archeology in Greece Online results from the merger, in 2009, of two old publishing companies: the Chronicle of excavations published annually, since 1920, by the French School at Athens in the Bulletin de correspondance hellénique, as well as a similar annual report, Archaeology in Greece, published by the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies and the British School at Athens. Each of the two institutions had a double challenge to overcome: to deal with a growth in the documentation on the one hand; and to use better tools to improve the circulation of scientific information on the other. The two institutions decided to join forces to offer, from the end of 2009, a Chronique des fouilles exclusively online.
The languages used are English and French, but the search engine, whatever the language used, always returns to the main database.
The languages used are English and French, but the search engine, whatever the language used, always returns to the main database.
Open Access with Open Édition
In 2017, the French School at Athens signed a partnerhsip with OpenEdition by joining the freemium programme. OpenEdition Freemium is a programme for the development of open access scientific publishing in the humanities and social sciences. The content is freely available – journals, books, research notebooks and scientific announcements –, supplemented by premium services and formats made available exclusively for institutions and their users. Thus, the texts are freely accessible in HTML format for everyone. They are downloadable in PDF and ePub formats only for users of partner institutions. No DRM or download quota is applied.
On 30 July 2019 BCH appeared online which is also published in printed form.
In autumn 2019, the French School at Athens published the first issue of an online journal BCHmc.
In 2020, on Open Edition Books issues of the three general collections appeared (BEFAR, BCHSuppl, MMB).
In 2020 the French School at Athens, with the four other Écoles françaises à l’étranger published the Bulletin des activités archéologiques des EFE which brings together in a single journal all the archaeological reports of these institutions.
On 30 July 2019 BCH appeared online which is also published in printed form.
In autumn 2019, the French School at Athens published the first issue of an online journal BCHmc.
In 2020, on Open Edition Books issues of the three general collections appeared (BEFAR, BCHSuppl, MMB).
In 2020 the French School at Athens, with the four other Écoles françaises à l’étranger published the Bulletin des activités archéologiques des EFE which brings together in a single journal all the archaeological reports of these institutions.
Digital distribution
ONline Information eXchange referencing
The publishing world is aware of the importance of circulating information successfully, using a common language between the various users of the publications, understandable in France and abroad. To this end, for the better dissemination of its productions, the publications service, with the help of the IT department, has completely redesigned its catalogue by adopting ONIX, a standard format used by publishers to transmit and exchange electronic information about the book. Gathering around fifty types of information, editorial, technical, commercial, bibliographies, this new catalogue will feed the entire chain of information exchange around paper and digital books (catalogue, website, bookstores, platforms, search engines etc.).
Casalini Libri Digital Division
Since December 2019, the and the Digital Division of Casalini Libri (Torrossa) have been partners for the online distribution and sale of digital publications. Casalini Libri is today one of the main suppliers of publications throughout Mediterranean Europe to libraries and institutions around the world. This partnership also allows the publications of the French School at Athens, distributed in pdf format, to reach markets which, for the moment, are otherwise closed to it, or at least difficult to access, allowing the school to better contribute to the dissemination of knowledge.
Casalini Libri Digital Division
Since December 2019, the and the Digital Division of Casalini Libri (Torrossa) have been partners for the online distribution and sale of digital publications. Casalini Libri is today one of the main suppliers of publications throughout Mediterranean Europe to libraries and institutions around the world. This partnership also allows the publications of the French School at Athens, distributed in pdf format, to reach markets which, for the moment, are otherwise closed to it, or at least difficult to access, allowing the school to better contribute to the dissemination of knowledge.