After Almost 40 Years, It's Time to Say Goodbye to ZPID

Asking for an internship was Jürgen Wiesenhütter’s first contact with the Leibniz Institute for Psychology Information (ZPID). Now, the longtime manager of the documentation department has retired.

The request for an internship in 1978 was denied. Instead Wiesenhütter, who holds a degree in psychology, was employed permanently. The coverage of psychological literature and the electronic database research was pioneer work at first. In 1982, PSYNDEX launched and is today the most comprehensive abstract database for psychological literature, audiovisual media, intervention programs, and tests from the German-speaking countries.

Wiesenhütter says, the technological development has changed his work the most: »The first records were written on typewriters, passed on and collected externally.« When computers captured workplaces, ZPID was on the frontline of progress. »Internet has revolutionized work and access to information even further.«

»Traditional databases have so much more to offer«

Reflecting today’s possibilities of information access, he becomes thoughtful. He observes that some researchers get used to looking for information via Google. »Traditional databases such as PSYNDEX have so much more to offer. The skills of research should be preserved«, says Wiesenhütter. Therefore, ZPID has to stay in touch with its customers and analyze their needs. New offers for researchers and practitioners need to be made as well. Contently he replies: »This will be done.«

ZPID director Michael Bosnjak says: »Jürgen Wiesenhütter and his team established a fundament for various new ZPID products which we will implement step by step during the following years. I am not the only one who appreciates his expertise paired with his cordiality and reliability.«

Wiesenhütter’s successor is Veronika Kuhberg. She joined ZPID as research assistant in the documentation department in 2011. Kuhberg holds a degree in psychology and is looking forward to help shaping the new strategic direction of ZPID.

The leadership’s goal is to develop ZPID into a universal provider of psychology infrastructure products and services by 2025. »What I find particularly fascinating is the conjunction of the research and the infrastructure unit, which didn’t exist in the now intended dimension«, says Kuhberg.

New direction, new department name

Along with the new direction, the name of the department changes as well. Instead of documentation it will be called infrastructure unit information services. Kuhberg intends to make her unit more visible: »My team accomplishes so much.« So does she. Parallel to her new duty, she is working on her doctoral thesis on the subject »information literacy and information behavior of young adults regarding health topics«.

Michael Bosnjak says: »I am looking forward to the collaboration with Mrs. Kuhberg in an exciting period of change and progress in psychology towards open science.«