Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the aim of the HERMES project - Humanities Education in Research, Data and Methods project (duration 2023 to 2026) is to establish a data competence centre for the humanities and cultural sciences. HERMES links persons involved in research with institutions in the library, archive and museum sector and promotes the development and expansion of the skills required to carry out research projects in the digital humanities.

As part of the HERMES research study programme, the German National Library funds up to four studies of its collections a year in order to strengthen data competence in the humanities and cultural sciences and better understand the demands made by researchers on its data holdings. Four collections selected by the German National Library will be made available for the studies; these may contain both open-access and protected data. The studies will be awarded in the form of research contracts with a term of three months.

The next research study programme is expected to be announced at the end of 2025.