Press release: Changes to the OAPEN Supervisory Board

The Hague, The Netherlands. 9 June 2026. The OAPEN Foundation announces changes to its Supervisory Board, marking the conclusion of terms for several valued members and the appointment of new Board members who will help guide the organisation’s continued development in open access (OA) book publishing.

As of 1 June 2026, Kurt de Belder (Leiden University) and Reinier Groen (OpGroen) stepped down from the OAPEN Supervisory Board following the completion of their terms. During their tenure, they have made significant contributions to the governance and strategic direction of the organisation.

Kurt joined the Board during OAPEN’s initial phase as a project in 2008. His long-standing expertise has been instrumental in defining OAPEN’s strategic path and establishing it as a robust infrastructure. Reinier, whose involvement spans nearly the same duration as Kurt’s, offered essential guidance for the financial health of OAPEN as a member of the financial audit committee.

Effective 1 June 2026, OAPEN is pleased to welcome Anja Smit and Sarah Thompson to the Supervisory Board.

Kimmo Tuominen, Director of the National Library of Finland (Kansalliskirjasto) and Chair of the OAPEN Supervisory Board says;

On behalf of the OAPEN Supervisory Board, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Kurt de Belder and Reinier Groen for their long-standing commitment and invaluable contributions to OAPEN. Their guidance has helped shape OAPEN from an ambitious project into a trusted and resilient infrastructure for open access book publishing. At the same time, we are very pleased to welcome Anja Smit and Sarah Thompson to the Board. Their expertise and commitment to open science, scholarly communication, and the academic library community will be highly valuable as OAPEN continues to strengthen its role in supporting sustainable, high-quality open access for books.

Anja and Sarah bring expertise across scholarly communications, academic libraries, and academic research ecosystem, adding to the existing strength of the Board. They will be joining Lidia Borrell-Damián (ScienceEurope), Charles Watkinson (University of Michigan/Press), Antia Wiersma (KNAW), and Kimmo. Anja will also take up the vacancy left by Reinier on the financial audit committee alongside Antia.

I am delighted to join OAPEN! Open science has been the compass for my work in libraries for decades. OAPEN has been a part of that since 2010, when it was still a project. Over the years, OAPEN has become a crucial partner in the open science ecosystem in a unique way. I am honored to be able to contribute to its future success!

Anja Smit, Director, DANS, (Data Archiving and Networked Services)

I am delighted to join the OAPEN Supervisory Board and to have this opportunity to help support this important organisation. OAPEN’s ultimate goal of advancing open access for the public good resonates with me on both a personal and professional level. OAPEN delivers an impressive set of open infrastructure services dedicated to open access, peer‑reviewed books. However, open infrastructure services which can be trusted by libraries and scholars don’t just happen; they require vision, care and coordinated support from their staff and communities. OAPEN shows how this can be done.

Sarah Thompson, Associate Director of Content and Open Research, University of York, UK

These transitions reflect OAPEN’s ongoing commitment to robust governance and community representation. The Supervisory Board will continue to guide OAPEN’s work in supporting sustainable, high-quality OA book publishing, and in maintaining trusted services for publishers, libraries, funders, and researchers worldwide.

Find out more about OAPEN’s governance structure.