Open Repositories 2026

Opportunities to support the 21st Open Repositories Conference (OR2026) are now available.

We warmly invite you to participate as a supporter and connect with a global community committed to advancing open, sustainable, and interoperable repositories.

OR2026 offers a virtual environment for companies and organisations working in digital asset management, storage and preservation solutions, research information systems, open access publishing and scholarly communication. The conference attracts a diverse international audience and provides a platform to showcase your expertise, tools, and services. While the online format naturally differs from an in-person event, our supporter benefits are structured to maximise visibility and engagement in the virtual environment.

Take a look at the supporter opportunities and benefits at the Call for Supporters page. For any questions, contact us at or2026-sponsorships@googlegroups.com.

Please visit the Call for Proposals page to learn more about the sub-themes and submission categories of the conference, including a full list of submission templates and key dates.

The theme for the conference is: Open to All? Repositories at the Intersection of People, Practice, and Emerging Technologies

We particularly welcome proposals aligned to the overall theme, but also on other administrative, organizational, or practical topics related to digital repositories.

Submission categories include workshops, panels, roundtable discussions, presentations, and pre-recorded lightning talks.

The deadline for submissions is January 11, 2026.

We look forward to the vibrant conversations and learning opportunities of the conference!

The next Open Repositories conference location is usually kept “secret” until the final moments of the current year’s conference, but OA enthusiasts are terrible at keeping secrets, so we’re letting the cat out of the bag a little early this year. The Open Repositories Steering Committee (ORSC) is excited to announce that OR2026 will be held online!

The OR community has experienced considerable growth over the past 20 years, and with that has come increased demand to make the conference accessible to those who can’t travel to the conference each year. Considering these global access needs, along with climate change concerns, geopolitical uncertainty and ever-tightening travel budgets, the time is right for OR to try an online approach. Planning is already underway, and we will announce more details in the coming months!

We consider this an experiment, and if it’s well-received, we may consider holding the conference online every 3-4 years. If not, we’ll continue on with our traditional in-person approach.

All that said, we know that the in-person conference is a much-loved event in the repositories community, so we’re also pleased to announce that the ORSC is now seeking Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from organizations interested in hosting the 2027 Open Repositories (OR2027) Annual Conference.

In-person OR conference locations rotate between Europe, North America, and other regions of the world. For OR2027, we are particularly interested in hosting the conference in a location outside of Europe and North America. While preference will be given to EOIs from potential hosts in these other regions, we welcome and will consider all EOIs.

Please see the full Call for expressions of interest to host Open Repositories 2027 for more information and submission instructions.