Access to Web of Science will end on 1 January 2026 | Utrecht University

"The University Library has decided not to renew its licence for access to the Web of Science citation database (including Journal Citation Reports). This means that, as of 1 January 2026, UU staff, UMC Utrecht staff and UU students will no longer have access to Web of Science and Journal Citation Reports.  

Discontinuing Web of Science is a logical step that fits in with the UU vision on Open Science. Closed commercial databases, such as Web of Science, are not in line with our desire to work with open research information as much as possible. The UU signed the Barcelona Declaration in 2024 to this effect.  

The use of Journal Impact Factors is also not in line with our vision of Open Science. At UU, we recognise and reward research and researchers based on the quality of their research, not on the impact factor of the journal in which the researcher published. Or on the number of publications and citations. 

With the funds freed up by not renewing the licence, we will continue to invest in open source research and infrastructure."