Medical research, healthcare and innovation rely on stable access to evidence-based information. Yet a significant proportion of this knowledge currently depends on U.S.-funded information services. Although there are European systems that provide up-to-date mirrors of databases such as PubMed, particularly for recent data, they too are ultimately dependent on PubMed. This kind of dependence poses risks caused by political decisions, economic interests or technical outages. The Open Life Science Publication Database, or OLSPub, seeks to counter these risks: The project will independently harvest metadata, including abstracts, directly from publishers. This will create strategic redundancy alongside PubMed and permanently secure scientific knowledge as a public good.

Renowned scientist and doctor Professor Dietrich Grönemeyer, who supports the OLSPub project, explains why such a system is so important: “What we need is an open German and European alternative to PubMed that will provide a reliable, permanent archive of medical knowledge and give Europe peace of mind in the AI era,” he says. “Having a solid backup is essential if other countries suddenly decide to delete scientific and medical data for political reasons.”

Despite OLSPub’s critical role in ensuring resilient research infrastructure, no government funding is currently available, and a previous application for support from the German Research Foundation (DFG) was unsuccessful. To meet the needs of the scientific communities and continue development despite the lack of public funding, ZB MED has chosen the path of community-based fundraising as an investment in independence and future resilience. OLSPub can be supported by direct donations or binding pledges. The long-term objective is to create an independent governance structure for the initiative at the European level, working jointly with communities and publishers.

The fundraising campaign aims to raise two million euros across three sequential phases. These funds will be used to create an independent, open and sustainable publication infrastructure for medical knowledge in Germany and Europe.

Find out more:

• about the fundraising campaign
• about the OLSPub project