Iryna Kuchma, EIFL Open Access Programme Manager, will attend the 17th General Assembly of OpenAIRE, which takes place online.

A not-for-profit organization, OpenAIRE A.M.K.E. includes over 50 organizations – including EIFL – to ensure a permanent open scholarly communication infrastructure to support European research.

Join the next meeting of the Community of Practice (CoP) for no-fee OA publishing in Africa, that now includes over 380 members - 

Date and time: 18 February 2026 at 10:00 UTC/11:00 WAT/12:00 CAT/13:00 EAT (convert to your timezone).

EIFL has engaged in copyright law reform in South Africa since 2015.

We provided training and built capacity among librarians in copyright and advocacy, and we participated in the legislative process during negotiations for the Copyright Amendment Bill (CAB) (the Bill is not yet adopted). 

We have updated the lists of journals in which corresponding authors from our partner countries can publish in open access for free or at discounted Article Processing Charges (APCs). 

In 2025 we renewed expiring agreements that include an open access publishing component, and also signed one new agreement: Institute of Physics (IOP) agreed to include publishing in their journals in addition to providing access to read. 

Iryna Kuchma, EIFL Open Access Programme Manager, will speak at training on using Open Journal Systems (OJS) for editors and reviewers of the journal, ‘Revue Ecosystèmes et Paysages’.

Join the EIFL online meet-up of open science trainers, which will explore how institutions strategically plan open science training, balancing long-term capacity building with project- and funder-driven training requirements, and how these approaches can be aligned more effectively. We will also start compiling a catalogue of existing curricula on open science.  

EIFL and the Zambia Library Service (ZLS) have organized an online workshop to build the capacity of public library staff in Zambia to deliver digital literacy training in their communities and to promote the meaningful use of ICT devices (laptops, tablets, mobile phones) and mobile internet for educational purposes.

Milica Ševkušić, EIFL Open Access Programme Project Coordinator, will speak at a session on the role of OpenAIRE National Open Access Desks (NOADs) and members in training activities, organized by the OpenAIRE Training & Support Standing Committee. She will share experiences and insights related to training on Open Science in Serbia.

EIFL has renewed an agreement with Taylor & Francis, for three years until 31 December 2028. The agreement includes discounted access to journals and waived and discounted Article Processing Charges (APCs).

Iryna Kuchma, EIFL Open Access Programme Manager, will talk about EIFL resources on open access and open science at the Open and Sharing Data Working Group session of the APAN61 conference taking place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and virtually, from 26 - 30 January 2026. Iryna's presentation takes place on 26 January.

We are delighted to name four winners of the 19th EIFL Public Library Innovation Award, for Public libraries that include STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) activities in their services and programmes.

Congratulations to –

"What this programme has given us goes beyond fostering scientific thinking — it's taught us a new way of bonding with our child," said a parent whose child participates in the Shanghai Children’s Library ‘STEM Whiz Kids’ programme.

The Biblioteca de Empresas Públicas de Medellín (Biblioteca EPM) in Colombia goes beyond traditional library services by fostering spaces for art, culture, and above all, STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) with its standout robotics club made up of young people passionate about these topics. From this group, five members have been admitted to university engineering programmes. 

Over 90% of children living in under-resourced areas of eThekwini Municipality in South Africa have expressed interest in taking up careers in science and technology after participating in Woodhurst Public Library’s STEM Makers digital skills programme.

Over the past two years (2023 - 2025) Woodhurst library has worked with partners and nine branch libraries in District 8 of the eThekwini municipal area (near the city of Durban) to organize bi-monthly coding and robotics workshops and fun school holiday Stem Makers programmes. In 2025 the programme reached 450 learners. 

The Nurture Lab at Rijeka City Library inspires creativity and innovation among young people by organizing workshops and learning activities in library spaces resourced with a wide range of digital equipment and other tools that can be used in projects that combine technology, science and art.

Join the next meeting of the Community of Practice (CoP) for no-fee OA publishing in Africa, that now includes over 380 members - 

Date and time: 21 January 2026 at 10:00 UTC/11:00 WAT/12:00 CAT/13:00 EAT (convert to your timezone).

We have renewed our agreement with the Institute of Physics (IOP) Publishing for three years, until 2028. For the first time, the EIFL-IOP agreement includes free or discounted Article Processing Charges (APCs) for publishing in open access in IOP hybrid journals in addition to free or discounted read access to the IOPscience Extra package.

EIFL has negotiated free access to the IOPscience Extra package for 19 EIFL partner countries, and discounted access for nine EIFL partner countries.

EIFL has renewed and expanded its agreement with World Scientific for one year, until the end of 2026. The renewed agreement provides waived or discounted Article Processing Charges (APCs) for authors to publish in 145 hybrid or gold (fully) open access journals in various fields.

Over the last three decades, World Scientific has established itself as the largest international scientific publisher in the Asia-Pacific region. 

EIFL has negotiated waived APCs for 26 EIFL partner countries, and discounted APCs for eight EIFL partner countries.

EIFL has renewed and expanded its agreement with World Scientific for one year, until the end of 2026. The renewed agreement provides waived or discounted Article Processing Charges (APCs) for authors to publish in 145 hybrid or gold (fully) open access journals in various fields.

Over the last three decades, World Scientific has established itself as the largest international scientific publisher in the Asia-Pacific region. 

EIFL has negotiated waived APCs for 26 EIFL partner countries, and discounted APCs for eight EIFL partner countries.

All the best for the holiday season and the New Year, with warm wishes from the EIFL Board and team. Thank you to everyone who has worked with us in 2025. We look forward to working with you again in 2026.