---
title: "ZBW publishes its 2025 annual review in Germany for policymakers and researchers; Open Access, data sovereignty gain Europe-wide"
sdDatePublished: "2026-06-17T15:13:00Z"
source: "https://www.zbw.eu/fileadmin/pdf/ueber-uns/2025/jb-2025-e.pdf"
topics:
  - name: "library and museum"
    identifier: "medtop:20000043"
  - name: "artificial intelligence"
    identifier: "medtop:20001298"
  - name: "scientific publication"
    identifier: "medtop:20000740"
  - name: "scientific research"
    identifier: "medtop:20000735"
  - name: "data protection policy"
    identifier: "medtop:20000627"
  - name: "information science"
    identifier: "medtop:20000748"
locations:
  - "Leipzig"
  - "Kiel"
  - "Frankfurt am Main"
  - "Berlin"
  - "Hamburg"
  - "Austria"
  - "Bremen"
  - "Dortmund"
  - "Switzerland"
  - "Germany"
  - "Mainz"
  - "Dresden"
  - "Weimar"
  - "Brazil"
  - "Freiburg (im Breisgau)"
  - "Essen"
  - "Oldenburg"
  - "United Kingdom"
  - "Erfurt"
  - "United States"
  - "Canada"
  - "China"
  - "Chile"
  - "Bavaria"
  - "Munich"
  - "Jena"
  - "Colombia"
  - "Köln"
  - "South Korea"
  - "Brussels-Capital"
---


ZBW publishes its 2025 annual review in Germany for policymakers and researchers; Open Access, data sovereignty gain Europe-wide

ZBW Jahresbericht

ZBW Highlights from 2025
Annual Review by the ZBW
The ZBW in 2025:
Open Access Transformation: Publishing openly together. p. 22
Data sovereignty: When research data suddenly disappears. p. 28
Information organisation: The networked open library of 2035. p. 42
Topic:
AI IN LIBRARIES:
Metadata for Transparent
AI Research and AI Use
p. 16
(with a survey)

2

ZBW Highlights from 2025

4
ZBW
2025 was a year of further development and tran­
sition for the ZBW. In an increasingly dynamic
environment of digitalisation, artificial intelli­
gence and Open Science, we have further refined
our role as a central infrastructure institution for
economics. Our mission remains unchanged: in
times of digital transformation, we not only or­
ganise information, but we also create the condi­
tions for reliable, transparent and increasingly
digital science.
The articles in this annual report demonstrate
how we put this mission into practice. Our own
research activities on and the use of artificial in­
telligence in libraries illustrate how closely re­
search-led innovation and scholarly practice are
intertwined at the ZBW. This also applies to our
strong commitment to generating and providing
high-quality metadata, as well as to our contribu­
tions to the further development of Open Science,
particularly in the areas of Open Access and open
research data. At the same time, we are actively
involved in science policy, where issues of data
sovereignty and the sustainable and resilient
availability of infrastructures – for example, for
publications or research data – are becoming in­
creasingly important.
We do not merely organise information. We cre­
ate the conditions for reliable, transparent and
increasingly digital science.
In addition to our national commitment, we place
a particular focus on contributing to the further
development of the European Research Area. The
ZBW actively contributes its expertise to initia­
tives such as the European Open Science Cloud,
thereby helping to strengthen reliable, sovereign
and open scientific structures in Europe. Our ac­
tivities in the field of Open Economics and in sci­
ence communication also underline our commit­
ment to making knowledge openly accessible and
to promoting dialogue with diverse communities.
In addition to these key areas of focus, the report
also documents the further development of our
organisation. New ways of working, flexible and
accessible working environments, and the con­
tinuous adaptation of our structures demonstrate
how we, as an institution, are responding to the
demands of modern science.
This report provides an insight into the diversity
of our activities and makes it clear that the ZBW
is constantly expanding and adapting its role as a
reliable partner for the economic sciences.
Our special thanks go to our staff, whose ongoing
commitment and professional expertise form the
basis for the ZBW’s success. We would also like to
thank the Foundation Board for the trust they
have placed in us and their continuous support
for our strategic development. Finally, we would
like to thank the ZBW Advisory Board for their
valuable input on content and their critical in­
sights.
Lastly, we would like to express our sincere
thanks to our former Library Director, Thorsten
Meyer, who has successfully helped shape the de­
velopment of the ZBW over the past 21 years. He
has since taken over the management of a univer­
sity library renowned throughout Germany.
We hope you find this an inspiring read.
Klaus Tochtermann, Axinia Braunisch,
Christiane Müller
Dear readers,

5
ZBW Highlights from 2025
„ We do not merely organise information. We
create the conditions for reliable, transparent
and increasingly digital science. “
FOREWORD

6
16 At the ZBW, metadata
is updated continuously to
provide a basis for collabora­
tive working processes.
20 “The concept of
access for libraries is cur­
rently undergoing a shift.”
Open Science in Europe
page 31
OPEN ECONOMICS

Communicating Open Science
Seite 33
Expedition Open Science Land
page 38
INFORMATION
ORGANISATION
LORI – A foundation for trans­
parent rights information at the
object level
page 40
Networked Open Library 2035
page 42
From name to identity
page 46
FROM RESEARCH
ZBW researches structures of
digital science
page 48
From the ZBW to the EOSC
page 50
Vision of the ZBW
page 8
Mission of the ZBW
page 9
ZBW 2025 in figures
page 10
ZBW news in brief
 page 12
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
IN LIBRARIES
Metadata for transparent AI
research and AI use
 page 16
“We don’t just organise data;
we safeguard scientific freedom
of action.”
page 20
OPEN ACCESS
TRANS­FORMATION
Publishing openly together
 page 22
Open Access and licence
management
page 26
DATA SOVEREIGNTY
When research data suddenly
disappears
page 28
Content

7
ZBW Highlights from 2025
56 Several projects at the
ZBW in 2025 demonstrated
how interior design can be
understood as part of the
New Work movement.
38 The ZBW has made com­
munication with the business
school a key focus through its
“Expedition Open Science Land”
initiative.
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER
YES! – Young Economic Solutions
2015–2025
page 53
Knowledge transfer through dialogue
page 54
THE ZBW WORKPLACE
Zoned, flexible, accessible
page 56
Green in concept, red in decision
page 58
Flexible academic work
page 59
EVENTS
In dialogue with the communities
page 60
APPENDIX
Last but not least
page 70

8
The ZBW sets ­national and
international standards for
­modern information provision
in economics.
vision

9
ZBW Highlights from 2025
The ZBW collects and catalogues economic
literature published worldwide. It offers com­
prehensive services that enable the efficient,
effective and sustainable use of specialised
economic information. It is a user-orientated
scientific information infrastructure instituti­
on that is committed to modern and innovative
requirements of information dissemination.
Mission

10
255 employees from 14 count
funding €2,064,625 in total e
12 ongoing externally funded
tions with universities (natio
1,131 collaborations with non
and service institutions 5,65
21,750,092 downloads of digi
metadata records in EconBiz
collection, 94 per cent of whi
vidual digital documents on o
long-term archived media ite
media items

ZBW Highlights from 2025
11
tries €26,226,000 in core
external funding
d projects 3,144 collabora-
onal & international)
n-university research
54,167 virtual visitors
ital full texts 13,075,037
z 23,597 journals held in the
ich are digital 919,484 indi-
our own servers 1,013,102
ems 30,078 retro-digitised
ZBW 2025 in figures

12
ZBW
Open Science Conference
Around 100 participants on site and
118 online participants from 27 coun­
tries accepted the invitation from ZBW
and the Leibniz Strategy Forum Open
Science to attend the International
Open Science Conference in Hamburg
on 8 and 9 October. The conference
explored how Open Science can help
make AI systems more transparent,
traceable and thus more trustworthy.
Researchers, infrastructure providers
and policy-makers exchanged views on
opportunities, challenges and concrete
solutions to further strengthen open­
ness and traceability, including in the
context of AI.
EOSC Symposium 2025
The EOSC Symposium 2025, which
took place for the first time with ZBW
Director Klaus Tochtermann as Presi­
dent of the EOSC Association, brought
around 500 participants from 36 coun­
tries to Brussels in early November
with the aim of establishing a common
European research data infrastruc­
ture. Speakers such as Marc Lemaître,
Director-General for Research and
Innovation at the European Commis­
sion, and Robbert Dijkgraaf, Pres­
ident of the International Council
for Science, emphasised the need for
global cooperation, digital sovereignty
and Open Science. Practical examples
demonstrated how researchers can al­
ready utilise interoperable data, artifi­
cial intelligence and scientific services
via the European Open Science Cloud
(EOSC). A highlight was the signing of
the Memorandum of Understanding
by Klaus Tochtermann, marking the
official establishment of the EOSC
Federation.
New EconBiz partner country:
Colombia with CESA
In July 2025, the EconBiz Partner
Network welcomed CESA – Colegio
de Estudios Superiores de Adminis­
tración as a new partner in Colombia.
This means that the Americas are
now represented by a further institu­
tion in the network, which now spans
eight countries. The EconBiz Part­
ner Network supports international
exchange in the economic and social
sciences. The aim is to provide access
to high-quality specialist information
and to facilitate the exchange of in­
formation on current services for our
communities. A complete overview of
all partner countries is available on
the EconBiz website.
ZBW strengthens trustworthy AI
­research and use with high-quality
metadata
Anyone working with AI methods
in research requires high-quality,
well-structured data as a reliable
foundation. The ZBW will therefore
specifically expand its role as a central
provider of economic metadata and was
able to secure funding for this strategic
project in 2025 under a special provi­
sion. In autumn 2025, the GWK ap­
proved funding for the project amount­
ing to 7.5 million euros for the period
2027 to 2030, thereby clearing the
decisive hurdle in a highly competitive
and science-led selection process. With
its long-standing and multidisciplinary
expertise in the AI-based creation and
processing of metadata, as well as its
role as the central information infra­
structure for economic science content
in Germany, the ZBW will fundamen­
tally transform its metadata produc­
tion and maintenance processes using
AI methods in future. Dorit Stenke,
Minister for General and Vocational
Education, Science, Research and Cul­
ture of the State of Schleswig-Holstein,
emphasised: “With this project, the
ZBW is demonstrating how digitalisa­
tion and artificial intelligence can be
used responsibly in academia.”

13
ZBW Highlights from 2025
NEWS IN BRIEF
ZBW supports the open access
launch of the “Vierteljahreshefte zur
Arbeits- und Wirtschaftsforschung”
via OLEcon
Since 2025, the ZBW has been sup­
porting the open access transforma­
tion of the newly founded journal
“Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeits- und
Wirtschaftsforschung” (VAW). This was
made possible by Open Library Eco­
nomics (OLEcon) and the OLEKonsort
project, funded by the Federal Ministry
of Education and Research. From 2025,
the journal will be published under
Diamond Open Access. There are no
costs for authors or readers. The journal
“Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeits- und
Wirtschaftsforschung” is a peer-re­
viewed journal focusing on labour and
economic policy topics. It continues the
editorial focus of the former “Viertel­
jahreshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung”
and has been published since 2024.
More on the topic of open access trans­
formation on p. 20.
ZBW once again awarded the “audit
berufundfamilie” certificate

In 2025, the ZBW was once again award­
ed the ‘audit berufundfamilie’ certificate.
Following a successful re-audit, beru­
fundfamilie Service GmbH confirmed
the organisation’s exemplary measures
to support the balance between work,
family and personal life, as well as the
further development of future objec­
tives. The reconciliation of professional
demands with family and personal needs
has been firmly embedded in the ZBW’s
organisational culture for decades and
is continuously being developed. Key
elements of the family-friendly HR policy
include, in particular, flexible working
time models and opportunities for loca­
tion-independent work.
Klaus Tochtermann took part in
the Falling Walls Executive Table
On 8 November 2025, ZBW Director
Klaus Tochtermann was invited to
the Falling Walls Executive Table.
Under the title “Dat