Uta Grothkopf is the Head of the Library and Information Centre at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), an inter-governmental research organization in astronomy. She develops and implements the mission of the Library and Information Centre, and ensures efficient access to information resources for ESO’s scientists and engineers.  

Uta and her team monitor evolving scholarly communication tools and trends in publishing, such as the Open Access/Open Science movement and changes in copyright, in order to provide advice and guidance to ESO’s researchers.  

Uta is a member of the IAU (International Astronomical Union) where she has been a Consultant to Commission on “Documentation and Astronomical Data” since 1994. She has been a speaker at many conferences and meetings, covering a variety of topics, including the evolving publishing landscape in the era of Open Access. She was actively involved in several LISA (Library and Information Services in Astronomy) conferences, and has been a lecturer at SWYA (Scientific Writing for Young Astronomers) Schools. In May 2019, Uta joined the Open Access Working Group of the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A), and has been a member of the S2O Community of Practice since October 2020.