If one were to ask what phrase best describes the atmosphere at the GND Forum Humanities@NDFI held on 23 and 24 June 2026 in Göttingen, “reaching out to one another” might be an apt description. Despite the temperature outside reaching 30°C and the club rooms of Göttingen University’s Unimensa offering little respite from the heat, nearly 80 guests gathered to learn about various tools designed to simplify work relating to the Gemeinsame Normdatei (GND). They also discussed their differing views on authority data for their cataloguing work and considered compromises. Through an intensive exchange of views, they drew up a position paper on collaboration regarding the GND.
The GND’s mission is to establish links between different resources and communities. How can its dual role as a database (= information science infrastructure) and as an organisation (= social and administrative infrastructure) help to strengthen cooperation between the four humanities consortia – NFDI4Culture, NFDI4Memory, NFDI4Objects and Text+? This was one of the key questions discussed in Göttingen. Against the backdrop of the reorientation of the NFDI funding programme under the new Federal-State Agreement (BLV) from 2028 onwards, the question of how the potential for synergy surrounding the GND between the consortia can also be utilised by other partners is becoming increasingly urgent.

The aim of the workshop was to examine the GND from various perspectives; to this end, the hosts – the Lower Saxony State and University Library in Göttingen, the German National Library on behalf of the GND headquarters, and representatives from the four NFDI consortia in the humanities and cultural studies – had prepared a three-part programme.
• The role of the GND in the consortia’s tools and services (Part 1)
• Different perspectives on four entity types in the GND (Part 2)
• Future potential for deeper cooperation between the consortia via the GND (Part 3)

The full programme, listing all participants, can be found here. As organisers, we have decided to publish a separate report for each part, providing detailed documentation of the exciting and constructive discussions and initial findings; links to these reports are provided here.

Twelve tools and applications relating to GND, presented in a factsheet Format
Part 1 of the GND Forum

Tools and applications are being developed across all consortia, as well as at GND headquarters, to make working with and around the GND easier. We have described these applications in brief profiles. Each profile answers the following four questions:
• What is the tool used for?
• What can you do with it?
• How do you access it?
• What do you need to bear in mind?
Each profile is supplemented by further information, such as a contact address, links and an internationally recognised categorisation of the application’s focus. We have opted for Cataloguing, Enrichment, Retrieval and Mapping. We hope that further profiles in a similar format will complement and expand the collection in future.
Here is the link to the profile collection: https://zenodo.org/records/21475637

A rose is a rose …
Part 2 of the GND Forum

Defining terms is a key element of scholarly work. Particularly when using expressions from everyday language, misunderstandings can otherwise easily arise. Therefore, in the ‘Entity Types Fishbowl’, participants discussed their views on geographical data, subject terms, corporate bodies and works in a setting comprising GND experts and representatives from the four humanities and cultural studies consortia. We have summarised the most relevant contributions and findings in this article: https://zenodo.org/records/21474952

A lingua franca
Part 3 of the GND Forum

In the final part of the GND Forum, the panellists and the audience sought to determine whether the GND is suitable as a unifying infrastructure for the four humanities consortia. Together, they put forward five propositions for the future. These propositions are intended to help ensure that, beyond its role as a data hub and organisational structure, the GND also facilitates the creation of a comprehensive and integrated data space through the synergistic use of the infrastructure services offered by the NFDI consortia and the GND Cooperative. This data space for the humanities and cultural studies is intended to allow users to identify and link content, research data and objects independently of their specific disciplines, thereby advancing their own research for the benefit of all.
The propositions and recommendations can be found in this position paper: https://zenodo.org/records/21475384
Comments welcome!
Please use this link to the position paper to comment on it and clarify any points where necessary. After 1 September 2026, we will then publish an edited version and submit it to the steering committees. We look forward to your feedback.

The organisers of this GND forum, listed in alphabetical order:
GND Headquarters at the German National Library, NFDI4Culture, NFDI4Memory, NFDI4Objects and Text+.