Open Life Science Publication database (OLSPub) - Strengthening the Biomedical Research Community by Building a Resilient and Sustainable Solution

This is the  project proposal "Open Life Science Publication database (OLSPub) - Strengthening the Biomedical Research Community by Building a Resilient and Sustainable Solution" submitted to the DFG (German Research Foundation) at May 28, 2025. The finacial part fo the proposal is not included here.

Abstract: The "Open Life Science Publication Database" (OLSPub (working title)) project aims to establish a resilient and open-source alternative to the widely utilized U.S. database PubMed. With this project, we want to establish the idea of resilient research structures, independent of individual funding bodies, via an open and transparent structure. This use case was initiated in response to concerns about potential content restrictions and access limitations to PubMed due to political influences and funding cuts in the U.S., this project seeks to ensure stable and comprehensive access to life science literature for the global research community incl. the National Library of Medicine in the U.S..

Central to this endeavor is the development of a German/European database that incorporates not only the functionalities and extensive content of PubMed, but also of creating a basic structure which - in the event of the continued stable existence of PubMed - offers a tool without content restrictions for the future inclusion of further languages such as German, French or other European languages.

The project is managed by ZB MED - Information Center for Life Sciences and uses the existing competencies in the field of discovery systems, in the publishing landscape and through the translation of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) into German. The project will focus on three main objectives: creating a sustainable network for developing a global life science database, securing legal and technical foundations for data integration, and establishing access via a platform with functionality comparable to PubMed, including MeSH tagging.

The project emphasizes collaboration with research communities and institutions across Europe to ensure the database's sustainability and adaptability to researchers' evolving needs. Through this open source initiative, OLSPub aims to not only provide a secure repository for life science literature but also to foster innovation and continuity in biomedical research. The developed service will be hosted on infrastructure provided by de.NBI - the German Network for Bioinformatics Infrastructure.