Members of the open access community were guests in Cologne from the 10th to the 12th of September. The weather wasn’t as good as we had hoped, but the rain showers were limited, so nobody got wet – as far as we know.

However, the weather and the good humour of the participants at the Open-Access-Tage (Open Access Days, OAT) were two things that we either couldn’t influence at all (in the first case) or we could hardly influence at times (in the second case), as we were neither in a position to determine the meteorological conditions over Cologne nor to anticipate the wishes of participants.

The conference programme, the venue, and the catering were a different story. So, as organizers, we rolled up our sleeves a year and a half in advance. First, there was the question of cooperation partners. Fortunately, that question was quickly answered. The OAT took place in Cologne once before – exactly 10 years ago – and the cooperation partners on that occasion, the Institute of Information Science at TH Köln, ZB Med – Information Centre for Life Sciences, and GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, were also on board this time. They were joined by the University and City Library of Cologne (USB) and the Catholic University of Applied Sciences of North Rhine-Westphalia (katho). In addition, we were supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as a regional partner.

First, we had to submit an application to organize the Open-Access-Tage – a process that we took very seriously! We conscientiously read the information for those interested in organizing the event, put together an application, and also made a little film about our city and what it has to offer. By booking the auditorium at TH Köln, we could achieve the required room capacity for 300 participants, so the dates of the OAT 2024 in Cologne had to be set early on, and the rooms, which were in great demand at the time of the conference, had to be reserved as quickly as possible. The fact that the estimated attendance (300 participants) was probably too low became evident at the OAT 2023 in Berlin, which had 450 attendees. However, by then it was too late to make any further adjustments, because, due to planned construction work, the University of Cologne could not commit to making any larger rooms available, and other rooms at TH Cologne were already booked. Nonetheless, we were optimistic at first. After all, Berlin is Berlin, but would so many people also want to come to Cologne? That the event was booked out after just a few days – practically over the weekend – probably surprised everyone, and just goes to show how highly regarded the OAT conference is! So, we had to act fast and look for streaming solutions.

In retrospect, many people are extremely satisfied with the additional offering, which was born out of necessity, as the presentations from two event rooms could be experienced remotely via live stream during the conference and viewed afterwards via ZB MED’s YouTube channel and TIB’s AV Portal.

Then there was the question of hotels. During the application process, the “elves” in our team enquired whether a trade fair would be taking place in Cologne on the target dates, which would have made it impossible for all participants to find hotel rooms. The HR trade fair, which we found out about only after our application had been submitted and accepted, seemed to be a problem at first. However, by reserving over 100 hotel rooms, we could at least ensure that a large number of participants would be able to find accommodation. As it turned out, only a few participants availed of these reserved rooms, and most participants managed to find accommodation themselves.

But what would we do if was hot in early September and everyone preferred to be outside rather than following the sessions in crowded rooms? The TH Learning Center had a solution at hand: the TransferBar, a fold-out trailer that enabled sessions to be streamed from the rooms to the outdoor area and, if the weather was nice, could be an inviting space to network with others outside. In this way, it was also possible to address passersby and promote interest in open access among colleagues and students at TH Köln. As a further offering, students had the opportunity to test and consolidate their knowledge of open access by designing a game at a seminar before the conference. An “Open Access Challenge” also gave those who did not know each other so well an opportunity to make new contacts in a playful way during the breaks over an “eau de cologne” (no, not the perfume, but a lemonade).

This was also possible at the first lunch, as we reserved tables in the canteen for the newbies – an offer that was gratefully accepted. Some people asked if they could join them, even if they had already been to the OAT two or three times – that was of course possible!

The two evening events – the social event at the University of Cologne and the traditional dinner in the Wagenhalle restaurant – offered lots of opportunities for exchange and networking. For those who decided at short notice not to participate in these events, there was a swap shop, so, despite the limited offerings, nobody had to remain in their hotel, disappointed and alone.

The swap shop also proved indispensable for the workshops, which, despite the abundant selection, were also booked out all too soon this time. We definitely did not have to do any more advertising for the OAT. However, in addition to the streaming, we also wanted to keep all those who had stayed at home informed as well as possible about what was happening at the OAT 24. So all important information was available on the web page, and during the conference, we were busily tooting on Mastodon.

The be-all and end-all of a conference is of course the catering – if all is good with that, everyone is naturally happy. We were very aware of that fact. For pragmatic reasons, when it came to the question of whether there should be meat, we didn’t allow any trench warfare to break out between us. Because we wanted to avoid a situation where the meat-eaters among us polished off the tasty titbits intended for the vegetarians, we unanimously decided in favour of two options, vegan and vegetarian, at the social events. Otherwise, for fire safety reasons, we were tied to the canteen and the coffee counters it offers. Although canteen food often has a bad reputation, our canteen has often organized the Executive Board’s celebrations, so we were on the safe side. But why the much-needed coffee was cleared away before the final keynote, although this had definitely been agreed and promised differently, will remain – also for us – an unsolvable mystery.

One question that we were asked frequently during the conference was: “Is everything really going so perfectly, or are there hitches in the background?” Well, the answer is: “Yes, there were hitches.” But apart from that faux pas with the catering, we still conclude that the conference showed that all organization partners worked excellently together. Everyone was equally invested in ensuring that everything worked well and that everyone felt at home in Cologne. So, yes, organizing a conference like this is a lot of work, but it is really fun and joyful to see so many happy and grateful faces at the end! So, where shall we meet in 2026? Perhaps at your place?

Arning, U., Dudek, S., Gebert, A., Halassy, K., & Schmitz, S. (2024). Open-Access-Tage 2024 an der TH Köln: Von dunklen Wolken, vermisstem Kaffee und ganz viel guter Laune. open-access.network. doi.org/10.64395/7e42z-25092.