The Association of Scientific Medical Societies (AWMF) is concerned about the planned cuts in funding for the German National Library of Medicine (ZB MED). This would also jeopardise the continuation of the open access cooperation project German Medical Science (GMS). GMS is a non-commercial portal for the publication of scientific medical research data. The AWMF demands that the joint lighthouse project GMS and thus the barrier-free availability of scientific data must be secured in the long term.

Despite its strategic importance, the financing of the German National Library of Medicine (ZB MED) has not yet been secured. In addition to literature and genome databases, ZB MED also provides experts and the public with platforms for the digital publication of new scientific medical research data and living textbooks. “Scientific medical publications as open access offer open access to literature and research data,” explains Prof. Rolf-Detlef Treede, President of the AWMF. “While the readership benefits from Open Access throughout, the sometimes exorbitantly high publication fees of commercial providers make the publication of their results an increasingly difficult hurdle for researchers to overcome,” he adds.

“The open access portal German Medical Science (GMS), which has been in existence since 2003, is operated jointly by AWMF and ZB MED. Due to its non-commercial orientation, this cooperation still represents a lighthouse project for Open Access publishing,” says Dennis Makoschey, Managing Director of AWMF and GMS gGmbH. “In addition to our interdisciplinary journal, 16 other medical journals are currently published via GMS. All publications are reviewed by experts and are immediately accessible digitally and free of charge after passing,” he explains. “GMS as a project of AWMF and ZB MED thus makes an important contribution to academic freedom. The long-term safeguarding of the GMS project requires sustainable financing of the ZB MED by the federal states and the federal government,” Makoschey demands.

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

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