Digitizing and digital libraries create great opportunities to provide access to cultural heritage globally, but the quickly changing information technology environment also raises many questions. The aim of this bachelor thesis is to analyse what visions and ideas behind one specific digital library, Europeana, that can be found in documentation related to the project. What ideas can be identified concerning aspects such as user participation, access to information, knowledge and information literacy? What is the project’s role in relation to education, preservation of cultural heritage and democracy? The method used to answer these research questions is a descriptive idea analysis. The empirical material, consisting of primary sources written in relation to the project, has been categorized within dimensions and analysed according to Douglas Raber’s three public library strategies: social activism, the conservative response and the populist initiative. The findings of this study are that social activism is the dominating strategy, including aims as to support social inclusion, promote cultural diversity and help democratize access to information. Another present strategy is the populist initiative, concerning the will to keep up with changing user needs and online trends. The conservative response can be identified, but barely. There are good possibilities for the future development of this project, even if some contradictions can be found concerning the visions in relation to financial, juridical and political restrictions. Important problem areas such as the uneven participation of different member countries, copyright restrictions and diverse user needs, must be addressed also in the future.