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The start of 2025 was dominated by the external evaluation that took place in February. We received the official results of this evaluation, which Leibniz institutions such as TIB must undergo every seven years, at the beginning of December. TIB does outstanding work as both the German National Library of Science and Technology and an information centre for the digitisation of science: The Leibniz Association will recommend that the Joint Science Conference continue to fund TIB. We are delighted about this decision!
You can find out more about what 2025 had in store for TIB in our TIB Report, which showcases the variety of our tasks and activities. Here are just a few highlights: In an interview, Professor Sahar Vahdati talks about her research on artificial intelligence and her future research topics at TIB. We also introduce new projects, such as the development of two new specialised information services and “AI in museums”, and demonstrate how we preserve cultural heritage through long-term archiving research data from the US.
Professor Sahar Vahdati has held a professorship at Leibniz University Hannover since the beginning of October 2024 and heads the “AI and Scholarly Communication” research group at TIB. In this interview, she talks about her research on AI, future research topics, and her career paths to date.
Professor Vahdati, you have been leading the “AI and Scholarly Communication” research group at TIB for several months now. Can you tell us what your research involves?
As an AI scientist, my work bridges theoretical research and practical applications in scholarly communication and science. My focus is on developing AI-driven solutions that streamline the research lifecycle for scientists, while ensuring that science-based knowledge is more accessible, verifiable and impactful for society.
A significant part of my research revolves around foundation models and their potential to drive progress toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). A key challenge in this domain is ensuring the factual accuracy and trustworthiness of Large Language Models (LLMs), especially in high-impact fields such as scientific research, and tackling societal challenges such as misinformation.
At TIB, we have rich scientific and historical knowledge repositories that can significantly improve the factual accuracy of AI systems. By leveraging these vast knowledge assets, we can ensure that AI-driven solutions provide trustworthy, verifiable, and easily accessible information to researchers and the public. Given this unique opportunity, I have been focusing on strengthening my vision around these principles, working towards integrating structured knowledge, enhancing logical reasoning, and developing AI-powered tools that support evidence-based decision-making.
Additionally, I work on strengthening the reasoning capabilities of LLMs and developing practical AI-driven applications, such as science-based chatbots designed to combat misinformation and prevent the spread of false facts. These solutions play a crucial role in ensuring that citizens receive accurate, science-backed information, fostering greater public trust in AI and scientific communication.
To mark the “International Day of Women and Girls in Science” on 11 February, Professor Sahar Vahdati also discusses the role of women in science. She encourages all young girls to dream big, believe in themselves, and never let anyone set limits for them, because the world of science is waiting for them.
The proportion of professors in Germany is still unevenly distributed, with less than a third being female. How did you get into science and what was your path to becoming a professor?
I am thinking not only of my own personal journey, but also of how important it is to represent, encourage and empower young girls who dream of a future in science. One of my most important tasks is to show young girls that anything is possible – that they can achieve anything they set their minds to. It all starts in the mind.
Even as a child, I had a thirst for knowledge and a spirit of discovery, and at the age of four I became the youngest member of the city library. When my parents saw this, they unknowingly encouraged my future by playing a game with me in which I was a university professor and answered their questions about my ‘lectures’. What began as a game became a powerful affirmation that shaped my dreams and goals. But my path was not easy. I was always in the minority – born and raised in Iran, where women's rights are currently severely restricted, I truly understood what it means to yearn for freedom, equality and opportunity.
I have been living in Germany for over 15 years and have had the privilege of experiencing women on both sides of freedom and science – on the one hand, where women have to constantly fight for their most basic rights, and on the other, where they are encouraged to dream, lead and contribute to society on an equal footing. This contrast has shaped my deep appreciation for my adopted home of Germany, for the freedom in life – and strengthened my commitment to supporting young women in pursuing their dreams in science and academia.
My path to becoming a professor was hard, but it was worth it. If I can do it, other women and girls can too. You have to be able to dream, but you also have to work hard and be motivated. A supportive family and an encouraging society can make the journey easier, but even without these privileges, you can still be successful – you can create opportunities for yourself through determination and belief in your own abilities.
“Woman, life, freedom” is and always will be the right slogan for us. To all the young girls out there: dream big, believe in yourselves and don’t let anyone set limits for you. Science is waiting for you!
Despite significant advances in digital technologies, modern scientific results are still communicated using antiquated methods. In nearly four hundred years, scientific literature has progressed from physically printed articles to PDFs. The problem with this is that these electronic documents are still text-based and therefore not machine-readable. A computer cannot interpret the information they contain without human assistance. Most approaches focus on using AI to train machines to interpret text-based information – usually with limited success.
A research team at TIB is now tackling the problem with a different mindset. Dr Markus Stocker explained:
“Many scientists already use data analysis tools that produce results machines can read. But the standard way of publishing these results is to organise them in a PDF document that is not readable by machines. Wouldn’t it be more efficient if we could publish results in a way that preserves their original structure? That’s what reborn articles enables.“
The reborn articles approach works with common data analysis tools and allows researchers to produce results that can be easily read by humans and machines. This means other researchers can reproduce the analyses themselves and even download reborn article data as Excel or CSV files, which are also machine-readable.
Various topics related to TIB are regularly reported on in the media, including in Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Deutschlandfunk, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Hannoversche Allgemeine. Below is a selection of media coverage:
For example, in the Deutschlandfunk programme Campus & Karriere, TIB employee Lisa Groh-Trautmann presents the citizen science project “Gestapo.Terror.Places in Lower Saxony 1933–1945” (from minute 24:55). With the help of committed citizens, the project documents the locations and crimes of the Gestapo in Lower Saxony on an interactive digital map.
Reports on the television channel Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), the ARD and ZDF online network Funk, the Tagesschau website and an interview with the Hannoversche Allgemeine newspaper focus on how TIB secures data from the online platform arXiv in a so-called dark archive, making it accessible in the event of a crisis such as the loss of data located in the USA. Wolfgang Wick, Chair of the German Science and Humanities Council (Wissenschaftsrat, WR) and Medical Director of the Heidelberg University Hospital’s Department of Neurology, also highlights the role of TIB in securing arXiv data in a guest article entitled “Europa rettet US-Forschungsdaten” (Europe saves US research data) in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
As part of the digitisation of its historical holdings, TIB has digitised a particularly rare first edition of the first volume of Karl Marx’s magnum opus Das Kapital, published in 1867. The edition comes from the library’s historical collection and contains an original interim brochure – a provisional binding made of paper or thin cardboard, which was common in the 19th century but is now extremely rare. Such finds are of great scientific and cultural-historical significance.
In addition to the first editions of volumes 1 to 3, TIB has catalogued and made digitally accessible the annotated editions from the estate of Erich Gerlach, an economist, politician and Marx expert. Gerlach’s personal comments and notes provide valuable insights into the reception of Marx in the early Federal Republic of Germany, enriching research in the process.
The digitised material is available via the TIB’s Goobi portal and forms part of an ever-expanding digital collection. This includes numerous works from the 19th and early 20th centuries, which have been scanned, catalogued and – once the legal situation was clarified – made freely available online at the TIB Rethen site. In this way, TIB is playing a key role in securing and making historical knowledge visible for the benefit of the scientific community.
In early July 2025, the Joint Science Conference of the Federal Government and the Länder (GWK) approved the continuation applications of nine National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) consortia. All nine will receive funding for another three years, including the NFDI4Chem, NFDI4Culture and NFDI4ING consortia, in which TIB plays a key role. The NFDI’s aim is to maximise the potential of research data as a valuable scientific resource by facilitating access and promoting reuse.
Approval of the second funding phase underlines the success of the consortia’s work to date, encouraging the partners involved to continue their joint efforts towards establishing a reliable research data infrastructure.
“Research data is an indispensable treasure trove for science: the National Research Data Infrastructure ensures that research data can be found and securely archived, remaining accessible in the long term. This data is an essential resource that forms the basis for sustainable science. Drawing on our many years of expertise in digital infrastructures and research data management, we at TIB play a central role in ensuring the sustainable use of this data,” explained TIB Director Professor Sören Auer. A key contribution made by TIB to the three NFDI consortia is the Terminology Service, which provides, manages and curates ontologies and ontology collections.
In an age where smartphones and tablets are used for schoolwork, leisure activities, family time and socialising with friends, the boundaries between different areas of life are becoming increasingly blurred. The trend applies not only to children and young people, but also to adults. This makes it all the more important for young people to learn how to structure their digital lives and learning environments consciously. This is precisely the focus of the DigiBound project, a collaboration between Osnabrück University, Aalen University and TIB.
The project aims to promote self-regulation, action control and decision-making skills among schoolchildren from the fifth grade onwards. The project will develop, test and scientifically evaluate a training programme to be used in the classroom and made publicly available as an open educational resource, i.e. as free and open teaching and learning materials.
“Thanks to our expertise in media education, we are making a valuable contribution to the target group-oriented development and production of digital learning formats for the training programme. By publishing it as an open educational resource, we are enabling teachers, children and young people to access the content independently and flexibly,” explained Margret Plank, Head of the Lab Non-Textual Materials at TIB.
New tailor-made information services for researchers in chemistry and physics: TIB is to receive funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG) to set up these two new specialised information services (FID). Work on FID Chemistry, focusing on molecular chemistry, and FID Physics, focusing on plasma physics, is expected to begin on 1 January 2026.
“As a central information infrastructure for science and technology, we at TIB see it as our task to establish specialised services that enhance the research experience. Our two new specialist information services will make knowledge easier to find and strengthen research in Germany in the long term.”
Dr Irina Sens, Deputy Director of TIB
The project partners of FID Chemistry are the KIT Library and the KIT Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems (IBCS). FID Physics is being developed in collaboration with the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB).
In addition to the FID Chemistry and FID Physics services, TIB is currently involved in two other specialised information services: FID Move supports research into mobility and transport, while FID Materials Science assists materials science and engineering researchers.
Fifteen historical films made by ethnologist Gerd Koch in the 1960s show traditional crafts, rituals, dances, games and food preparation. The films document the unique culture of the island nation of Tuvalu. In collaboration with the Government of Tuvalu, TIB is licensing these films for educational and scientific purposes and providing high-quality digital copies.
The films, which were made in Tuvalu over half a century ago, form part of the scientific film collection of the former IWF Wissen und Medien gGmbH, which has been part of TIB’s holdings since 2012
Since acquiring the collection, TIB has gradually digitised around 3,200 scientific films to the highest technical standard to ensure their long-term digital preservation and make them permanently accessible for research purposes. These include films from Tuvalu documenting the traditions and everyday practices of the Pacific Ocean island nation. They are made available exclusively for scientific use on the TIB AV Portal. Legal restrictions apply, particularly with regard to the personal rights of those depicted.
The Government of Tuvalu – represented by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Climate Change and Environment – considers the films to be an important means of transmitting traditional knowledge and a valuable contribution to preserving the country’s cultural heritage. The films are to be used primarily for educational and research purposes.
“Preserving and scientifically exploiting cultural heritage in TIB’s collections, preferably in cooperation with the societies of origin, is one of TIB’s core tasks. We are delighted to be working with the Government of Tuvalu and to be able to contribute to preserving the country’s cultural heritage by making these unique films available,” remarked Professor Sören Auer, Director of TIB.
TIB’s formats offer interfaces for networking and international exchange. By bringing science, the public, politics and business together in dialogue, the library contributes to the knowledge-based development of society.
At the Didacta education fair in Stuttgart, TIB presented eDoer, a digital learning environment. At the spring and autumn conferences of the German Physical Society (DPG) in Regensburg and Göttingen, respectively, TIB presented services for physicists, including TIB document delivery, the TIB AV-Portal, the Open Research Knowledge Graph and ORKG Ask.
TIB also organised, or was involved in, many other events for specialist communities in 2025. These included the 18th ACM International Conference on Web Search and Data Mining (WSDM 2025), one of the leading conferences on web search, data mining, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), the “Scientific databases in transition – a focus on quality, openness & AI” web conference, the ScienceVideoCamp 2025 on science communication in video format, the OERcamp on Open Educational Resources in Hannover, the Teaching AI Barcamp 2025 on the practical use of generative AI in education and information services, the 7th VIVO Workshop and the MediaWiki Users and Developers Conference. The series concluded with #vBIB, a virtual conference initiated by TIB in 2020 and held at the beginning of December, which focused on the topic of “digital openness”.
The target group formats are just as diverse as the range of tasks and subjects covered by TIB. For example, the Tech Meetup organised by Hannover Economic Development Agency focused on the question of what solutions local language models could offer to specific company applications.
At events such as the “Long Night of the Libraries” or the “Nacht, die Wissen schafft” (the night that creates knowledge), TIB offered a colourful programme for all age groups. On Architecture Day, visitors had the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes, specifically into the historic reading room in the Marstall building. TIB also had a presence at the Leibniz University’s summer festival with its traditional book flea market. At Schloss Baum, TIB Director Professor Sören Auer discussed AI with school students.
The Technik-Salon on 5 June 2025 focused on securing research data, particularly in view of the political situation in the USA. In November, the Technik-Salon dealt with digital sovereignty – AI and copyright in Europe.
As in previous years, at the “Lange Nacht der Berufe” (Long Night of Careers), the apprentices presented the Media and Information Service Specialist (FaMI) training programme and advertised apprenticeship opportunities for 2026.
Interested members of the public were able to discuss the library’s diverse topics with TIB scientists, both in person and virtually. One example of this was speed dating at the Leibniz Association’s “Book a Scientist” event.
A parliamentary evening at the Lower Saxony Landtag (state parliament), the “Leibniz in the Landtag” and “Leibniz in the Bundestag” dialogue formats, and a delegation trip to Japan with the Leibniz Community were entirely in the spirit of exchange between politics and science. In addition, TIB employees participated in numerous national and international events, delivering more than 80 lectures, workshops and other contributions. These included the iPres conference, the most important international event on digital long-term archiving, which took place in New Zealand in 2025, as well as the 22nd Annual Meeting of the renowned Science and Technology in Society (STS) in Kyoto, Japan.
