According to the jury, the library of the University of Mannheim fulfills eight of the award criteria. One of these criteria is discovering the potential for open access – meaning free and unrestricted access to academic literature. The University Library fulfills this criterion by supporting and advising researchers in all matters relating to open access. Another aspect is the development of open source software: For example, the University Library develops an open source software for the team monitors (PalMA) which has also been translated into several languages. Since it is an open source product, libraries or institutions worldwide can use and adapt the team monitor software free of charge.
In addition, the jury honored the University Library’s numerous services relating to openness in research, such as continuing training and courses as well as events like the Mannheim Open Science Day which recently took place for the fourth time.
The award criteria of the jury, the list of all libraries which received the badge and additional background information can be found on the following website: https://badge.openbiblio.eu.