Phasing out licences for digital sources

As a member of the KB you can reserve books and magazines (online) and consult them in the reading rooms. Membership also gives you access to various online sources and digital publications. The digital sources we offer change periodically. Several licences were discontinued at the end of 2024, and several more will disappear from our offering in early 2026. This page explains why.

Licence Phase-Out 

During the licence negotiations at the end of 2024, we discontinued several licences. This was due to a decline in the use of these sources, combined with the high costs of providing them. Several licences will also expire on January 1, 2026, and they will no longer be available to KB members. 

Would you like to know exactly which sources will be discontinued in early 2026?

In the academic world, it is becoming increasingly common to publish scholarly publications open access. In 2022, 89% of publications from Dutch universities were published open access, and globally, 50% of publications are available in an open, freely accessible form. In the coming years, we will focus on developing a search environment to make open access articles easier to find and use for a wider audience. The decision to discontinue these licences is therefore not a simple cutback, but a conscious decision to make scholarly information more accessible to more people, whether they are members of the KB or not. By focusing on this, we hope to ultimately help more people access reliable scholarly information. We consider this an important goal in light of our mission as a national library. 

Support 

We realise that this course of action may also mean that our members who still use these resources may be disappointed. However, we hope that you will continue to support us and, with us, recognise the importance of high-quality, openly available scholarly information.