Scientific software development has become a crucial resource in today's research practice in almost all research domains. It is one tier of the Open Science triad completed by the tiers Open Access and Open Data.

Providing open access to source code also permits reuse of data, reproducibility of science, and creates scientific transparency. Reproducible science is only possible when access to data is open, and data is analysed using open source software. This requires taking responsibility for software development, and adopting stewardship practices for managing, processing and disseminating scientific data products and related services. The resulting peer-reviewed and consensus oriented environments are crucial for the advancement of science in general and the promotion of long term sustainability of science infrastructures. Providers of scientific infrastructure and related services are adapting to this new paradigm to ensure reliable access and preservation of scientific software.

The conference provides a forum for software experts and managers from research infrastructures and libraries to present and discuss the state of the art of service portfolios, strategies and policies for software referencing, sharing, collaboration and sustainability.

The conference is being hosted by the German National Libraries of Science and Technology (TIB in Hannover), Medicine (ZB MED in Cologne/Bonn) and Economics (ZBW in Kiel/Hamburg)

The conference will address major issues for the process of dealing successfully with non-textual information.

Conference Topics

• Software sustainability

• Software sharing and collaboration

• Software referencing

• Legal issues concerning scientific software