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Springer and Dutch universities reach wide-ranging agreement on access

Innovative experimental approach includes subscription access and open access

Berlin | Den Haag | Dordrecht, 20 November 2014

© Vereniging van Samenwerkende Nederlandse Universiteiten (VSNU)Springer Science+Business Media and the Association of Dutch Universities (VSNU) have reached a landmark agreement which includes access to more than 2,000 of Springer’s subscription journals as well as a commitment to rapidly moving toward open access publishing for all publicly financed research results from the Netherlands.

Although negotiations between VSNU and a number of STM publishers have been ongoing, the agreement with Springer is the first to be signed. Springer is no newcomer to open access, having introduced a hybrid open access model in 2004, and having acquired leading open access publisher BioMed Central in 2008. The agreement also follows the objective of Sander Dekker, State Secretary in the Ministry for Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands, to have 60 percent of Dutch scientific output published using open access by 2019 with this percentage rising to 100% in 2025.

“We are very pleased to announce this agreement, and look forward to working with the VSNU in the future. Our commitment to supporting the scientific community, including open access, is well known. We are confident that we will be able to announce further, similar agreements in the near future,” said Derk Haank, CEO of Springer.

Springer is currently finalizing similar agreements with a selected group of major research funders in Europe, including the Max Planck Digital Library.


Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) is a leading global scientific, technical and medical publisher, providing researchers in academia, scientific institutions and corporate R&D departments with quality content via innovative information products and services. Springer is also a trusted local-language publisher in Europe – especially in Germany and the Netherlands – primarily for physicians and professionals working in healthcare and road safety education. Springer published roughly 2,200 English-language journals and more than 8,400 new books in 2013, and the group is home to the world’s largest STM eBook collection, as well as the most comprehensive portfolio of open access journals. In 2013, Springer Science+Business Media generated sales of approximately EUR 943 million. The group employs more than 8,000 individuals across the globe.

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Eric Merkel-Sobotta | Springer | Corporate Communications
tel +49 30 82787 5434 | eric.merkel-sobotta@springer.com