Press release: 13.5.2015

From 1 July 2015 all bibliographic data of the German National Library and the authority data of the Integrated Authority File (GND) will be provided free of charge and can be freely re-used under "Creative Commons Zero" (CC0 1.0) terms.

The data can be obtained via online interfaces (Data Shop, SRU or OAI interface etc.) in the standard formats following initial registration and authorisation (registration free of charge).

The German National Library will continue to charge a fee for active provision of data via FTP or WWW servers. The corresponding list of charges is published annually on 1 April and then applies from 1 July.

By offering the metadata free of charge for unlimited re-use, the German National Library is supporting the free flow of data, especially amongst providers of bibliographic data, and is helping to realise the vision of a universally accessible "web of data".

Background

The German National Library is the central archiving library and national bibliography centre of the Federal Republic of Germany. Besides offering use of its collections at the Leipzig and Frankfurt sites, the German National Library also provides services for libraries, the book trade and scientific institutions, plus a large number of other individual services via the Internet.

Contact person
Jochen Rupp