Lib4RI

Name

Lib4RI

Legal name

Lib4RI – Library for the Research Institutes within the ETH Domain: Eawag, Empa, PSI & WSL

Website

https://lib4ri.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic and Scientific Library Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAGAFAI

Interdisciplinary & Multidisciplinary Scholarly Publishing

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Academic & Scholarly Publishing (Journals, Monographs)

SECONDARYHLAGAJAN

Knowledge Management & Scientific Collaboration / Literature Intelligence

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Life Science Tools & Services (CRO/CDMO/Lab Services)/Life Science Software & Informatics (LIMS/ELN/Bioinformatics)

SECONDARYEDAGAJAL

OER Repositories, Discovery & Metadata Services

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Textbooks

SECONDARYEDAEALAO

Research Administration & Grants Management Support (Pre/Post-Award, Compliance)

Education/Education Facilities & Support Services/Outsourced Operations & Managed Services for Education (BPO/Contracted Support)

Keywords

• Academic library services
• Research data management
• Open access publishing
• Institutional repository
• Scientific information services

Headquarters

HQ city

Dübendorf

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Funding: Lib4RI is funded through the four research institutes it serves (Eawag, Empa, PSI, WSL) as part of the ETH Domain. The library operates as a non-profit shared service providing literature access, research data management, and publication support to affiliated researchers at no direct cost.
2. Open Access Fund: The Open Access Fund covers Article Processing Charges (APCs) for researchers publishing in pure Open Access journals. The fund is co-financed by the ETH Board and managed centrally, with an APC cap of CHF 2,500 per article. This is funded through institutional budgets rather than direct researcher payments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lib4RI is the joint scientific library serving the four federal research institutes within the Swiss ETH Domain (Eawag, Empa, PSI, and WSL). It provides affiliated researchers across 11 research sites with access to scientific literature and databases, an institutional repository (DORA) for open-access publications and research data, research data management support, Open Access publishing services (including an Open Access Fund covering APCs and Read & Publish agreements), text data mining and bibliometric analysis services, training programs, and advisory services on scientific writing, copyright, and publishing.

Product overview

Lib4RI is the joint Library for the Research Institutes within the ETH Domain — serving Eawag, Empa, PSI & WSL — providing a comprehensive suite of scientific library and research support services. The core offerings centre on DORA (the institutional repository for publications, preprints, and research data), the Lib4RI Search Tool (a unified discovery interface across articles, books, data, journals, standards, and patents), and the Open Access Fund (covering APCs for pure OA journals). Supporting services include the Text Data Mining (TDM) Service (guidance on corpus building, NLP analysis, and copyright), the CAS SciFinder Discovery Platform subscription (SciFinder-n, Formulus, Analytical Methods), Bibliometric Analyses, Green Open Access self-archiving, research data management training, the Lib4RI Tools catalogue, and specialist advisory services on copyright, CC licences, and publishing. A curated Tools catalogue covers literature management (Zotero, EndNote), data analysis (R, Python, Jupyter), and publishing tools. Recent additions include GeoVITe (expanded to an Open Research platform via FAIRGeo), IPscreener (AI-powered IP research), and the new Lib4RI Search Tool. All services are oriented toward enabling open science, FAIR data, and OA publishing across the four institutes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DORA: Institutional repository for Eawag, Empa, PSI, and WSL to make scholarly articles publicly accessible

Products and services

• DORA Institutional Repository DORA (Digital Open Research Archive) is the institutional repository for the four research institutes within the ETH Domain (Eawag, Empa, PSI, WSL), providing open access to scholarly publications, research data, and preprints with support for Green Open Access self-archiving, embargo management, CC license attachment, and citation linking. Indexed by Unpaywall, Web of Science, and Scopus for discoverability.
• Lib4RI Search Tool A unified discovery interface enabling search across journal articles (via OpenAlex, Scopus, Web of Science), books (via Swisscovery), research data (via institutional repositories), journals, standards, patents, and other resources. Includes journal recommendation features, DOI resolution, and access to Lib4RI website content.
• Lib4RI Open Access Fund An Open Access publication fund covering article processing charges (APCs) for researchers at Eawag, Empa, PSI, and WSL publishing in pure Open Access journals. Capped at CHF 2,500 per article (excl. VAT), co-funded by the ETH Board, with eligibility requiring corresponding author affiliation and journal listing in DOAJ.
• Lib4RI Digital Library Desk A virtual support channel via Zoom video conferencing that enables Lib4RI staff and researchers to share screens and conduct face-to-face consultations. Available Monday through Friday 8:30-16:30 for real-time research support.
• Lib4RI Training Series A biannual training programme covering searching and managing scientific information, with individually bookable modules including literature management (Zotero, EndNote), LaTeX, scientific illustrations, research data management, and Python/Pandas/Jupyter for data handling. Offered at Eawag-Empa, PSI, and WSL campuses.
• Lib4RI Update Newsletter A regularly issued newsletter providing updates on library resources, services, upcoming events, trainings, and topics in research libraries and academic publishing. Distributed to all employees at the four research institutes and available via subscription for external users.
• Text Data Mining (TDM) Service A research support service guiding researchers through text data mining projects, covering data collection (via APIs and data sources), text pre-processing (normalisation, stop word removal, tokenisation using R and Python), and analysis (topic modelling, NER, sentiment analysis, trend analysis). Includes a curated collection of text data sources and copyright guidance.
• Bibliometric Analyses Bibliometric analysis reports for individual researchers, research units, and institutions, covering publication output, research area mapping, and collaboration analysis. Available as a consultation service.
• GeoVITe Open Research Platform An online portal providing free access to federal and cantonal geospatial data for research and teaching. Expanded into an Open Research platform through the FAIRGeo project, offering FAIR-compliant geospatial data management for the research community.
• IPscreener An AI-powered intellectual property research tool offered by Lib4RI to help researchers explore the patent landscape, discover hidden patent knowledge, and support IP-related research decisions.
• CAS SciFinder Discovery Platform Full subscription to the CAS SciFinder Discovery Platform comprising three modules: SciFinder-n (chemical reactions, substances, and scientific literature including patents), Formulus (integrated formulations database for chemical product development), and Analytical Methods (searching and comparing published scientific methods).
• Lib4RI Tools Catalogue A curated catalogue of free and/or open-source tools supporting the researcher workflow, curated by Lib4RI staff. Covers categories including literature management, reference management, text data mining, data analysis, publishing, and research data management. Includes tools like Zotero, EndNote, R, Python, Jupyter, and Quarto.

Quantifiable outcome

• 86.7% Open Access publication rate achieved at four research institutes in 2022
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration26 records

AI capability7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries (swissuniversities)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLib4RI participates in national Read & Publish agreements negotiated by swissuniversities with major publishers including ACS, Springer Nature, Wiley, Elsevier, and Taylor & Francis. These agreements enable affiliated researchers to publish Open Access at no additional cost.
• American Chemical Society (ACS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree-year Read & Publish agreement (2023-2026) enabling corresponding authors from Eawag, Empa, PSI, and WSL to publish Open Access free of charge in all ACS journals.
• Springer NaturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpringer Compact agreement extended for three years, providing access and publishing components to all Springer, Palgrave, and Adis journals with increased annual article quota. Now also includes Nature Research journals publishing component.
• ElseviercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRead & Publish agreement covering Open Access publishing in more than 2,500 hybrid and full Open Access journals without extra costs for corresponding authors from Eawag, Empa, PSI & WSL.
• WileycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRead & Publish agreement providing Open Access publishing in all Wiley journals (full OA and hybrid) without extra costs for affiliated researchers.
• Taylor & FranciscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgreement covering Open Access publishing in more than 2,500 hybrid and full Open Access journals without extra costs for authors.
• Royal Society of ChemistrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRead & Publish agreement allowing corresponding authors to publish Open Access free of charge in all hybrid OA journals and Chemical Science.
• Copernicus PublicationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgreement where corresponding authors affiliated with the four institutes do not pay APCs for publishing in any Copernicus journal. Central settlement of APCs between Copernicus and Lib4RI.
• IOP (Institute of Physics)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgreement providing Open Access publishing in 78 hybrid and full Open Access IOP journals without extra costs for corresponding authors.
• FrontierscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgreement since 2022 where Lib4RI covers Article Publishing Fees for corresponding authors in any Frontiers journals.
• MDPIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating institution in MDPI's Institutional Open Access Program. Authors receive 20% APC discount, with invoices centrally paid by Lib4RI for affiliated researchers.
• Cambridge University PresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRead & Publish agreement enabling corresponding authors to publish Open Access free of charge in almost all hybrid and Gold OA journals.
• Oxford University PresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgreement allowing corresponding authors to publish Open Access free of charge in all hybrid OA journals published by OUP.
• Annual ReviewsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLib4RI participates in Subscribe to Open (S2O) model supporting conversion of Annual Reviews journals to Open Access.
• American Physical Society (APS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgreement enabling Open Access publishing in all hybrid Physical Review journals without extra costs for affiliated researchers.
• American Society for Microbiology (ASM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgreement covering six hybrid Open Access journals with no APCs for corresponding or contributing authors publishing in ASM journals.
• Microbiology SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgreement where any article published in Microbiology Society journals with corresponding author from the four institutes is published Open Access by default without costs.
• SCOAP3coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLib4RI supports SCOAP3, enabling authors to publish Open Access in key high-energy physics journals at no cost through CERN-coordinated funding.

Scale indicators4 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• OpenAlex: An open replacement for Microsoft Academic Graph and a partial alternative to Scopus/Web of Science, integrated into Lib4RI's search tool. Represents the open scholarly metadata layer that could erode the value of subscription-based discovery in the longer term.
• DataCite: A DOI registration agency for research data, integrated into Lib4RI's search tool. Provides the metadata infrastructure for FAIR data citation that increasingly overlaps with library repository services.

Broad incumbents

• Ex Libris (Clarivate): Provides Alma, Primo, and other library services platforms widely used by academic libraries. While not a direct competitor to Lib4RI's service layer, it underpins much of the underlying discovery and management infrastructure Lib4RI uses.
• swissuniversities Open Science programme: The national consortium that negotiates Read & Publish agreements on Lib4RI's behalf and co-funds the OA programme. Operates the policy/governance layer above Lib4RI and is the structural counterparty for national-level OA strategy.

Direct peers

• ETH-Bibliothek (ETH Zurich): The main academic library of ETH Zurich, another ETH Domain institution. Operates a comparable suite of subject-specialist support, OA agreements, research data management services, and digital library infrastructure for a large Swiss research community.
• ZB MED Information Centre for Life Sciences: German national library and information centre for life sciences, medicine, and related disciplines. Offers comparable OA publishing, research data management, and literature intelligence services across life-science disciplines including aquatic and environmental research.
• TIB – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology: Germany's national library for science and technology, providing research data management, OA publishing support, scholarly literature access, and data/knowledge infrastructure analogous to Lib4RI for a comparable research community.
• CERN Scientific Information Service: Operates the SCOAP3 OA programme (which Lib4RI participates in) and the INSPIRE-HEP platform. Comparable as a mission-driven, non-commercial research library supporting high-energy physics and multidisciplinary open science with preprints, OA, and research data services.
• EPFL Library: Library of the other major ETH Domain institution (EPFL). Provides comparable OA fund management, research data management support, training programmes, and Read & Publish agreements to EPFL researchers via swissuniversities consortium participation.
• SLSP (Swiss Library Network Platform): The shared service platform behind Swisscovery — the discovery layer that Lib4RI itself relies on. Operates the joint IT infrastructure that powers resource sharing and discovery across Swiss academic libraries, making it both a partner and a structural peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/lib4ri.bsky.social
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lib4ri

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lib4RI