In 2025, open infrastructure for research and scholarship finds itself at a crossroads. Rapid-fire change, political upheaval, and shrinking budgets have created a sense of urgency and uncertainty. In the midst of this environment, IOI’s Katherine Skinner presented at the Bologna Meeting on Open Research Information.
Her take-away message was that this moment, however dark it may seem, can be a catalyst for positive, collective action. Returning once again to the classic tale of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” as a lens to examine the illusions that hold us back, we can begin to see the reality beneath the surface and chart a more strategic, sustainable path forward. In 2024, Katherine Skinner introduced this metaphor at a meeting for HathiTrust; in May 2025, with the world changed by political upheaval, she returned to the topic and urged transformative, community action.
The fairy tale framework: Spotting our illusions
The story of the emperor and his invisible robes is a powerful metaphor for the open infrastructure community. In the tale, the emperor is duped by tailors who promise him garments visible only to the wise. Out of fear and pride, both he and his advisors pretend to see nonexistent clothes. They are joined in this charade by crowds that gathered to bear witness to grand robes, who perpetuate the illusion until a child finally speaks the truth: the emperor has no clothes.
The Emperor's New Clothes. Arthur Rackham (1932)
This story resonates in our field. We, too, are often trapped by illusions—stories we tell ourselves that hinder our progress. Recognizing these illusions is the first step toward meaningful community action.
Illusion #1: There’s not enough money
One of the most pervasive illusions is the belief that there simply isn’t enough money to fund open infrastructure. Katherine Skinner shared that, during her time at Educopia, she worked closely with its staff and hosted program leaders to keep communities afloat on a blend of membership fees, consulting work, and grant funding, while believing that scarcity of funding was the root problem. This illusion persists and is a familiar refrain in the field.
Reality: The real issue isn’t a lack of money, but a lack of strategy. The costs of silos, competition, and duplication are enormous. Too often, similar projects operate in isolation, each shouldering their own technology and staffing costs, rather than pooling resources or coordinating efforts. This inefficiency drains the system and leaves everyone in a state of perpetual precarity.
Illusion #2: Survival equals success
Another damaging illusion is the notion that mere survival is a mark of success. In academia and research, sunsetting a project is often seen as failure. As a result, many open infrastructures linger on, kept alive by exhausted volunteers and minimal funding, long after their prime.
Reality: When everything survives, nothing thrives. Our field cannot support all of the projects, programs, and budding organizations that are currently underway, because the open infrastructure ecosystem is already bursting with projects that persist out of obligation rather than strategic value. This proliferation leads to fragmentation and stagnation, rather than robust, sustainable growth.
Illusion #3: Innovation is the only way to stay relevant
Another deeply rooted illusion is the belief that constant innovation and always building something new is the only way to remain relevant and secure funding. This mindset drives organizations to prioritize novelty over sustainability, leading to a crowded landscape of tools and services, each vying for attention and resources.
Reality: Endless innovation without consolidation leads to sprawl, not progress. Where there could be “hubs” or networks serving a specific area of infrastructure and actively reinforcing each others’ work, there are more often multiple disconnected, competing efforts that require resources and attention in an overloaded and constrained economy. What the open infrastructure community truly needs is not more tools, but a shift in funding and attention toward reinforcing a common set of social and technical infrastructures. By focusing on shared platforms and standards, and investing in what works for the broadest community, we can create a robust, resilient ecosystem that serves everyone more effectively.
The cost of too many solutions
The history of digital preservation provides a cautionary tale. Over the past few decades, numerous solutions—DAITSS, LOCKSS, Rosetta, Portico, MetaArchive, Chronopolis, Merritt, DuraSpace, ADPNet, APTrust, DPN, and many, many more—emerged, each with its own technical, organizational, and governance approach. Most competed for a small pool of willing institutions, and nearly all survived, but just barely.
Only a few, like MetaArchive, have officially sunset in a thoughtful, careful process. The rest continue, often in a state of under-resourcing and uncertainty and without resilient financial, operational, and technical models. This is not a sign of a healthy ecosystem; it is a symptom of our reluctance to incentivize and reward those projects and programs that deliberately plan ways to transition, merge, or sunset before they are running at a loss or in a constant state of limbo.
Moving from illusion to reality: Community action
What, then, is the path forward? The answer lies in collective action and strategic planning. Rather than rewarding endless creation and survival, the community must:
- Name duplication and overcrowding as a problem: Overlaps in social, technical, and administrative infrastructures will not self-correct.
- Prioritize collaboration over competition: Pool resources, share staffing, and align missions where possible.
- Embrace sunsetting as a healthy process: Recognize and reward when a project has served its purpose and allow resources to be redirected.
- Invest in infrastructure, not just tools: Focus on building and supporting systems that can support diverse needs without unnecessary duplication.
- Foster interdependence: Create incentives for projects to work together, rather than in isolation.
Conclusion: Seeing clearly, acting together
The tale of the emperor’s new clothes reminds us that illusions can persist when no one is willing to speak the truth. In open infrastructure, it’s time to acknowledge the illusions that hold us back—scarcity of funding, the equivalence of success and survival, and the unchecked proliferation of tools—and to replace them with a commitment to strategy, collaboration, and intentional sunsetting.
By facing reality together and treating this moment as the emergency that it is, the open infrastructure community can transform this moment of crisis into an opportunity for lasting, positive change. The emperor may have no clothes, but together, we can weave something real and resilient for the future.