This blog post is part of a series on current developments in open data in the humanities and social sciences in Switzerland, produced for the infoclio.ch 2025 conference «Open Science in History». The series presents various recent projects, highlights resources available online, and offers reflections on the topic.
In 2018, Open Divide: Critical Studies on Open Access examined the transformation of scholarly communication, questioning dominant narratives and highlighting unresolved controversies. Now, seven years later we, Joachim Schöpfel (Université de Lille, France), Ulrich Herb (Saarland University, Germany), and Niels-Oliver Walkowski (University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg) launch a twelve-month lecture series as a foundation for a new edition of Open Divide. The three of us are equally responsible for the content of the series and will take turns moderating the individual events.
This lecture series tackles these pressing issues, exploring the role of libraries, sustainability, and long-term preservation. It critically examines competition, commercialization, and governance in academic publishing while addressing equity and the broader impact of open science policies. Alternative models, such as shadow libraries, commons-based publishing, and the Global South’s contributions, offer fresh perspectives on the future of Open Access.
Leading experts from academia, libraries, and publishing will share their insights, offering diverse and critical perspectives on these pressing issues—explore the speakers and their topics below.
Bryant, Rebecca: Libraries Supporting Open Research: International Perspectives
Parisot, Thomas et al.: Open Science and the Information Industry: French Debates and Insights
Hinchliffe, Lisa Janicke: The Sustainability and Stability of Open and Closed Access Publishing
Laakso, Mikael: Long-Term Preservation of Open Access Publications: Facts, Current Practices, and Future Outlook
Küster, Arend: Does scale matter? Personal reflections on Open Access from different publishing perspectives
Schöpfel, Joachim: The Global South’s Role in Shaping the Open Science Paradigm
Moore, Samuel: Publishing Beyond the Market: Open Access, Care, and the Commons
Kjellström, Zakayo: Beyond Institutional Boundaries: Shadow Libraries as Commons and the Future of Knowledge Preservation
