When thinking about “openness” in the context of libraries, the first image that usually comes to mind is of a library’s doors being open to everyone. But openness actually encompasses a lot more than that, including:
• Open access: free access to research literature
• Open educational resources: freely usable teaching and learning materials
• Open data: open and freely usable data
• Open source: software whose source code can be freely used and modified
• Open science: a movement to make scientific research accessible
“Our aim is to meet the digital needs of present and future generations alike. For society to reap the maximum benefits, digital resources need to be accessible to the greatest number of people and be reusable with minimal technical, legal, and social restrictions,” says Maria Elisabeth Müller, Director of the SuUB. “That’s why we are committed to the openness criteria, such as open access to knowledge.”
This understanding of openness is intended to make research findings visible, reproducible, and transparent. In general terms, the concept of openness also concerns public participation and involvement from anyone interested in research (citizen science, accessibility).
The Open Library Badge (OLB) initiative was founded in 2016 to raise awareness of openness at libraries and to highlight which ones give special consideration to openness. This badge is intended to create an incentive system for greater openness in libraries, rewarding them for their commitment to this concept in academia and society. “We are proud to have received the Open Library Badge 2020 last week. This makes us one of 21 libraries in total from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria that are committing themselves to the openness criteria,” says Ms. Müller.
This year, the SuUB will once again be taking part in the international Open Access Week from October 24 to 30, 2022. From October 24 to 28, open access will be the topic of digital coffee lectures at 12 p.m. – free and accessible to all.
Further Information:
www.suub.uni-bremen.de/home-english
https://badge.openbiblio.eu
www.uni-bremen.de/en
Contact:
Anke Winsmann
Public Relations Officer
Bremen State and University Library
Tel.: +49 421 218-59572
Email: oeffentlichkeitsarbeitprotect me ?!suub.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
