With your support, it will become the association open-access.network e. V. !
The competence and networking platform open-access.network (formerly Informationsplattform Open Access - open-access.net) has been supporting the open access transformation in Germany since 2007. It has become indispensable for the daily work of libraries and researchers, and for strategic planning and consulting at universities in the field of open access. The service has also brought the community closer together, and strengthened it through targeted knowledge transfer.
Project funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) ends in December 2025, and all project partners have pledged to ensure basic operations until the end of 2028. However, active maintenance of the website - updating content, adding new findings and developments - will only be possible to a limited extent.
Transfer to community-based operation and foundation of an association ('Verein')
In order to keep open-access.network alive in the long term, we are taking two pioneering measures:
- We are transferring open-access.network into a community-based operation.
The first steps have been taken: Helpdesk questions will be answered by experts, the oa.blog will provide space for news from the OA community, and specialist and information pages will be expanded with the support of professionals from the open-access community. - We will found the open-access.network e. V. association
In 2025, we will found the open-access.network e. V. association to continue the competence and networking platform on a financially independent basis. It will be supported permanently, by the community for the community, with its customised and indispensable services.
open-access.network e.V. association founded
On 17 September 2025, the open access community founded the association open-access.network e. V. The founding meeting took place during the Open Access Days at the University of Konstanz. The aim of the association is to provide long-term support for the information and networking platform of the same name on the subject of open access.
Chair and officers elected unanimously
Twenty-eight founding members were present at the founding meeting and, accompanied by great interest from over 50 guests on site and others watching the online stream, approved both the association's statutes and its membership fee regulations.
The association's executive committee is composed as follows:
- Anja Oberländer, Deputy Director of the Communication, Information and Media Centre (KIM) at the University of Konstanz, was elected as the first chairperson with overwhelming approval.
- Marco Tullney, Head of Publication Services at the Technical Information Library (TIB), was elected as the association's second chairperson.
- Christoph Bruch, Helmholtz Open Science Office, was elected as treasurer.
- Daniel Beucke, Lower Saxony State and University Library Göttingen (SUB Göttingen) and
- Maike Neufend, Head of the Open Research Office Berlin at Freie Universität Berlin, will take on the role of assessors.
Margo Bargheer, SUB Göttingen, and Robert Ströttgen, Managing Director of the University Library of the Technical University of Braunschweig, are responsible for auditing the accounts.
The association has applied to the Constance Local Court for entry in the register of associations. The next general meeting will take place in the first quarter of 2026.
If you or your institution would also like to become a member, please use our application form.
Why become a member of open-access.network e.V.?
With your membership, you will enable the information and networking offers and services to continue to be available to everyone free of charge.
With your membership you will ensure:
- Information and resources: Over 50 subject-specific and information pages offer comprehensive and quality-checked content on open access, in both German and English. These resources include practical tips, tools and valuable materials that are of great importance for day-to-day work at universities and in libraries.
- Exchange and networking: The annual Open Access Days, workshops, oa.barcamps, and the digital focus groups on open-access.network give you the opportunity to exchange ideas with experts and other OA professionals, learn from each other, and develop practice-oriented solutions.The oa.blog offers space for publications and contributions on current developments and experiences.
- Services: Our research tools, such as oa.hub, oa.atlas, and oa.finder, make it easier to find your way around the open access universe. The central oa.helpdesk is the point of contact for further questions and offers customised support on specific topics.
Membership
- Institutions and initiatives pay € 985 per year (may be reduced to € 450 per year upon request).
- Individuals can join for only € 25 per year.
If you are interested in becoming a member of open-access.network e.V., you can find the membership form here. (Please download the form to fill it out to avoid technical problems.)
You can use it for institutions or individuals. If you are submitting the membership application as an authorised representative of an institution, please indicate this in the appropriate place.
Please send the completed application form to:
Universität Konstanz
Kommunikations-, Informations-, Medienzentrum (KIM)
Dr. Martina Benz
Universitätsstr. 10
78464 Konstanz
or to: verein@open-access.network.