Availability of Resources via the Library in 2025
As the year draws to a close, the Library is working diligently to renew its subscriptions, licences, and publication deals. At the same time, decisions are being made about which licences not to renew. This may affect the resources available to you through the Library. What can you expect in the coming year?
The Library: More than just Open Access
With the rise of Open Access, it is not always evident that many resources still require paid access. Nevertheless, TU Delft Library invests nearly €8 million annually in agreements with publishers. These investments enable TU Delft staff and students to access digital articles,
journals, databases, and (digital) books or to publish in academic journals without incurring personal costs. What is often perceived as ‘free’ is, in reality, an intensive and costly endeavour.
Budget cuts in 2025
In August of this year, the Executive Board (CvB) imposed budget cuts on the university’s support services. For TU Delft Library, this means a €1 million reduction in the 2025 budget, of which €544,000 will be cut from the collection budget. This will result in:
- Cancelled collections
- Phasing out certain publication deals
- Reduced reserves for new subscriptions or titles
Although the collection budget will be tighter, evaluations have been carefully conducted based on usage data to preserve essential resources as much as possible.
Need access to a cancelled title?
If you find that a specific title you need has been cancelled, please report it via library@tudelft.nl. In most cases, access can be arranged within a week.
Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond
The 2025 budget cuts have been managed relatively well, but all reserves have now been depleted. Should further cuts be required in 2026, more challenging decisions will need to be made regarding major collections, educational resources, databases, and publication deals. Would you like to contribute your expertise and be involved in these decisions? Sign up as a contact person for your department, research group, or faculty via collections-lib@tudelft.nl. Together, we can ensure that the available resources best meet the needs of the TU Delft community.
