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Scholarly libraries: Catalysts for open science and an open society

"WEITER WISSEN. Mit uns." – "KNOW MORE. With us." is the motto of a campaign initiated by a number of important scholarly libraries to raise awareness of their unique work for scholarship and society.

The campaign WEITER WISSEN. The scientific and scholarly libraries in Germany | © Deutscher Bibliotheksverband e. V. (dbv)

The campaign WEITER WISSEN. The scientific and scholarly libraries in Germany | © Deutscher Bibliotheksverband e. V. (dbv)

Launched today, the campaign "WEITER WISSEN" aims to highlight the social relevance of scholarly libraries, their special tasks and functions and the wide range of services they offer as prerequisites for innovative science. This is because extensive political and social support for science and scholarship-related infrastructures is essential to guarantee that independent cutting-edge research, teaching and development continues in Germany in the future.

At the start of the campaign, Dr. Jens-Peter Gaul, Vice-President of the German Library Association (dbv) and Secretary-General of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK), said:

Academic libraries are catalysts for open science and an open society. Together they provide the central information structures of science and continually drive them forward. The themes of open access, research data management, cultural heritage and long-term digital archiving could not be developed without the dependable services provided by the academic libraries. Particularly in times of increasing social uncertainty and attempts at disinformation, libraries guarantee freedom of access to fact-based knowledge that has been subjected to independent review. In this way, they ensure that science, education and culture remain open to all.

During the campaign, the scholarly libraries will communicate the wide range of amenities, services and benefits they offer in posters, social media campaigns, events and much more.

The campaign is being supported by numerous scientists, including climate researcher Prof. Dr. Mojib Latif, President of the WZB Berlin Social Science Center Prof. Dr. Jutta Allmendinger, veterinarian Prof. Sonja Bröer, virologist Prof. Dr. Melanie Brinkmann, President of the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research Prof. Dr. Christoph M. Schmidt, transformation researcher Prof. Maja Göpel, Prof. Dr. Christoph Markschies from the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, infectologist Prof. Dr. Marylyn Addo, philosopher Prof. Dr. Julian Nida-Rümelin, migration researcher Prof. Dr. Naika Foroutan and Prof. Dr. Claudia Kemfert from the German Institute for Economic Research. They have issued a number of brief statements on what they believe the scholarly libraries contribute to science and research.

You will find more information about the campaign at:
weiterwissen-kampagne.de

Reproducible image material can be downloaded at:
https://www.bibliotheksverband.de/presse.

About the background
Scientific and scholarly libraries support research, science, scholarship and teaching not only by providing literature and research data but also by preserving them and ensuring that they will remain accessible in the long term. In order to raise awareness of these services, numerous scholarly libraries have joined forces to develop the campaign "KNOW MORE. With us." The campaign is a joint initiative by Baden State Library, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, the German National Library, the Göttingen State and University Library, the SLUB Dresden, the Berlin State Library, the Hamburg State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky, the Leipzig University Library, the University Libraries of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the Freie Universität Berlin and of the Technical University of Berlin, the University Library Mannheim, the TIB – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology and University Library, the ZB MED – Information Centre for Life Sciences and the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, together with the German Library Association e. V. (dbv).

Press contact
Kristin Bäßler
Head of Communications/Press Spokeswoman
Deutscher Bibliotheksverband
Fritschestrasse 27 – 28
10585 Berlin
baessler@bibliotheksverband.de
Phone  +49 30 6449899-25

German Library Association
The German Library Association e. V. (dbv) represents with its nearly 2,000 members nationwide over 9,000 libraries with 25,000 employees. Its main concern is to strengthen libraries so that they can give every citizen free access to knowledge. The association is committed to the development of innovative library services for science, scholarship and society. As a political interest group, the dbv focuses on supporting libraries in the areas of information literacy, media education and the promotion of reading and helps them ensure that every citizen can participate in culture and society.
www.bibliotheksverband.de

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