[zilla_toggle title=”Who is LYRASIS?” state=”closed”] LYRASIS is a member-based non-profit serving libraries, archives and museums with licensing and products, technology hosting, digital technology services, consulting, training and more. Membership in LYRASIS allows members to participate in national and international programs, to have a voice stronger than their institution alone and enables them to showcase their local success and opportunities. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”Who is DuraSpace?” state=”closed”] The DuraSpace (http://duraspace.org) organization is an independent non-profit providing leadership and innovation in the development and deployment of open source technologies and hosted services that promote durable access, discovery and representation of scholarly and scientific data. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”What is the LYRASIS membership model and what does it fund?” state=”closed”] LYRASIS members join to participate in exclusive eResources and product offers, digital technology services, for training and consulting discounts and member pricing on special programs such as the Digitization Collaborative and CollectionSpace, ArchivesSpace and Islandora hosting services. The LYRASIS membership fee is non-directed, meaning it goes to support an array of specialized offerings and services. Services such as hosting are for-fee services.

LYRASIS group members are members through a group agent, usually a state library or other group, and those members receive discounts on training and library supplies.

All LYRASIS members can also take advantage of technology solutions that will make their content more discoverable, accessible and usable. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”What is the DuraSpace membership model and what does it fund?” state=”closed”] DuraSpace members join at one of four levels of membership with associated benefits. The membership dollars can be directed toward a community supported software project (i.e. Fedora, or DSpace or VIVO), meaning they fund a specific project and those dollars are not co-mingled with other funds or spent on services or other projects.

Members are eligible to become partners in project governance with a voice in ensuring that DuraSpace open source projects, DSpace, Fedora and VIVO, are sustained in order to serve the global communities that depend on them. Membership dollars may be directed specifically to support any of the projects or the general fund.[/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”Are DuraSpace and LYRASIS now one organization?” state=”closed”] No, the DuraSpace and LYRASIS Boards have voted and approved an intent to merge. Additional investigation, outreach to members and financial and legal due diligence are now underway to determine final feasibility of a coming together. The investigation process will contribute to a planned joining of the organizations rather than an acquisition of either. Webinars will be held to allow for community input and to answer questions as they arise. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”When would a combined membership model be implemented?” state=”closed”] There would be no change in the membership model of either organization for a minimum of one fiscal year. And there are no plans to change any of the directed funding model that DuraSpace employs or that ArchivesSpace or CollectionSpace presently uses. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”Who will lead the new organization?” state=”closed”] Robert Miller, CEO of LYRASIS  would be CEO of the proposed joined organization. Debra Hanken Kurtz, CEO of DuraSpace, would become the COO of the new organization. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”What is the name of the new organization?” state=”closed”] No new name has been determined for the organization. If there is a naming change we will announce it as soon as the joining of the two organizations is complete. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”What will the impact be on an existing contract we have in place with LYRASIS or DuraSpace?” state=”closed”] Based on the new organization structure, all contracts will be reviewed. It is hoped that there will be no changes of substance required to minimize disruption. [/zilla_toggle]

LYRASIS and DuraSpace Membership

[zilla_toggle title=”How would a LYRASIS/DuraSpace merger benefit me (as a DuraSpace or LYRASIS member)?” state=”closed”]

  • Operating as a single entity, LYRASIS and DuraSpace can pool their resources and provide expertise to a broad array of problems the community is tackling. These would include – storage, future proofing of digital assets, hosting, access and discovery.

  • Together they have strong technical expertise to solve problems, robust processes and systems in place to deliver customer and community solutions, and a full suite of services that could serve as the foundational platform for digital scholarship for a broad range of institutions managing scientific and cultural heritage materials.

  • LYRASIS and DuraSpace represent strong adjacencies for each other’s core missions, communities of service and suite of products/services.

  • Coming together would represent an opportunity to deliver end-to-end services for core members. These would include Community Supported Software programs.

  • A combined LYRASIS and DuraSpace organization would pursue a broad mission, including the continued development of open technologies and services.

  • The organization would also reach out to new communities that manage, preserve, and provide access to digital content.

  • The new unified organization could provide significant economies of scale, synergies in developing open technologies and services, and a strong position for long-term sustainability.​
  • By coming together LYRASIS and DuraSpace can create a new context for the stewardship of cultural memory by leveraging investments that can bring together partners operating at all the levels in our community, from large research libraries through small public libraries, local historical museums and beyond.
  • LYRASIS and DuraSpace togther can build a new arena for collaboration by allowing for the pooling and sharing of technical talent in service of our mission as creators and stewards of the intellectual and cultural commons, embracing throughout that process pervasive principles of openess – openess both in relationship to technical means and in accessing substantive content.
  • A combined organization would multiply the impact of the technical talent in our community.

The new unified organization could provide significant economies of scale, synergies in developing open technologies and services, and a strong position for long-term sustainability.[/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”Will any existing projects with (LYRASIS and/or DuraSpace) be interrupted?” state=”closed”] No. All current services and projects will continue uninterrupted. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”Will my LYRASIS subscriptions and products still be available?” state=”closed”] Yes. All current subscriptions for eResources, hosting or other projects will continue uninterrupted. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”What action should I take now?” state=”closed”] No action is needed at this time to ensure continuation of all services. Feedback is welcome  in monthly CEO talks (schedule to be determined) or at synergy@duraspace.org. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”(for DuraSpace Members) Will I become a member of LYRASIS?” state=”closed”] No. Membership and associated current benefits in each organization will remain the same for a minimum of one fiscal year. To repeat, there will be no disruption in directed funding. In fact, LYRASIS has fiscal management tools in place where they already act as a ‘trust’ for members. So they have experience with directed funding control and allocation. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”(for LYRASIS Members) Will I become a member of DuraSpace?” state=”closed”] No. Membership and associated current benefits in each organization will remain the same for a minimum of one fiscal year. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”Will the cost of my current LYRASIS or DuraSpace membership and services change due to this coming together?” state=”closed”] No. Membership costs and associated current benefits in each organization will remain the same for a minimum of one fiscal year. [/zilla_toggle]

LYRASIS and DuraSpace Projects

[zilla_toggle title=”What would a combined organization mean for ongoing DuraSpace and LYRASIS open source software development projects?” state=”closed”] The new organization would be the home for  five OSS projects-DSpace,Fedora, VIVO, Collectionspace and ArchivesSpace. Anticipated benefits for having five projects under one organization include economies of scale for project administration; cross-pollination among both organizations’ projects and services; the potential for new adopters; and a stronger stewardship organization with greater capacity for advancing new open source initiatives. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”What is the DuraSpace portfolio of projects and services that would be affected by joining the organizations?” state=”closed”] DuraSpace is home to open source projects DSpace, Fedora and  VIVO and hosted services ArchivesDirect, DSpaceDirect, DuraCloud and DuraCloud Vault will continue without change or interruption. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”How will the OSS projects be governed in the new organization?” state=”closed”] No changes will be made regarding how current OSS projects are governed in DuraSpace or LYRASIS.  Changes in project governance would be determined in collaboration with the Steering and Leadership groups for all projects. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”How will OSS projects be funded in the new organization?” state=”closed”] Each project is funded through membership programs that direct dollars to a specific project. OSS projects will continue to be funded through this model. The combined organizational structure will ensure that funds directed to specific projects by institutions will continue to be applied in the same way. [/zilla_toggle]

LYRASIS and DuraSpace Services

[zilla_toggle title=”What is the LYRASIS portfolio of programs and services that would be affected by joining the organizations?” state=”closed”] LYRASIS is the organizational home for CSS services ArchivesSpace and CollectionSpace, and offers hosted services for ArchivesSpace, CollectionSpace and Islandora. These services will continue without change or interruption. LYRASIS is also home to licensing and products, consulting and training, all of which will be unaffected by this potential change and will continue uninterrupted. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”Will the current membership services and/or benefits of either organization be interrupted by a potential merger?” state=”closed”] Membership services or benefits currently offered by either organization will not be interrupted or changed. DuraSpace members will be able to direct their dollars to support specific CSS projects and current project governance will remain unchanged. LYRASIS members will not experience any changes in service or pricing during the merger period. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”Will all the services still be offered in the new organization?” state=”closed”] LYRASIS will continue to offer all current services including licensed eResources and services, strategic partnership initiatives, library supplies, consulting, training, the Digitization Collaborative, grant projects, hosting services and fiscal services. DuraSpace hosted services, DuraCloud, DSpaceDirect, ArchivesDirect and DuraCloud Vault, will continue to be available for purchase. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”Can I still access training and services from (LYRASIS)?” state=”closed”] Yes. Current services will not be interrupted during this public investigative phase or during a potential merger.[/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”Can I purchase (LYRASIS and/or DuraSpace) products and/or hosted services?” state=”closed”] Yes. All current LYRASIS and DuraSpace product and hosted service offerings are available for purchase.[/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”Will any existing projects with (LYRASIS and/or DuraSpace) be interrupted?” state=”closed”] No. All current services, projects, and collaborations will continue uninterrupted.[/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”Will my LYRASIS subscriptions and products still be available?” state=”closed”] Yes. All current subscriptions for eResources, hosting or other projects will continue uninterrupted.[/zilla_toggle]

Next Steps

[zilla_toggle title=”How will intent to merge investigations be conducted by each organization’s board of directors?” state=”closed”] Each organization’s Board of Directors’ exploratory committees will continue fact-finding around intent to merge issues. As appropriate, updates will be placed on each organization’s web site. In addition, informational webinars will be held, with dates and times announced soon. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”What are the issues that the exploratory committees will address?” state=”closed”] They will recommend a new organizational structure and governance to the members. They will also complete the legal and financial due diligence for both organizations. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”How will communities participate in the intent to merge investigation?” state=”closed”] LYRASIS and DuraSpace communities will be invited to give feedback in monthly CEO talks (schedule to be determined). Additionally feedback is welcome at synergy@duraspace.org. [/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”Who is on the LYRASIS and DuraSpace Exploratory Committees?” state=”closed”] The LYRASIS Board of Trustees Exploratory Committee members:

  • Kathlin Ray, Dean of Libraries and Teaching & Learning Technologies, University of Nevada, Reno and chair of the LYRASIS Board of Trustees
  • Gail McClenney, Library Director, Roanoke College – Fintel Library
  • Derick Dreher, John C. Haas Director, The Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia
  • Jay Schafer, Director of Libraries, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
  • Emily Gore, Director of Content, Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
  • Robert Miller, CEO of LYRASIS

The DuraSpace Board of Trustees Exploratory Committee members:

  • Robert Cartolano, Associate Vice President, Digital Programs and Technology Services, Columbia University Libraries/Information Services
  • Mike Conlon, VIVO Project Director, Emeritus Faculty, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, College of Medicine, University of Florida
  • Paul Courant, former Provost and former Dean of Libraries at the University of Michigan and  Chair of the DuraSpace Board
  • Tom Cramer, Chief Technology Strategist & Associate Director, Digital Library Systems & Services, Stanford University Libraries
  • Laura Wood, Library Director, Tisch Library, Tufts University
  • Jonathan Markow, Chief Strategy Officer of DuraSpace
  • Debra Hanken Kurtz, CEO of DuraSpace[/zilla_toggle]

Community Feedback

[zilla_toggle title=”How can I send feedback or questions about the ‘intent to merge’?” state=”closed”] Both organizations are seeking feedback from members about the proposed “intent to merge”.  Please submit any comments in the next 30 days (before March 10th). You can email us at synergy@duraspace.org.[/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”How do I contact LYRASIS?” state=”closed”]Contact LYRASIS at www.lyrasis.org, by email at membercommunications@lyrasis.org or by telephone at 800.999.8558.[/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”How do I contact DuraSpace?” state=”closed”]Contact DuraSpace at info@duraspace.orgor by telephone at 607.216.4548.[/zilla_toggle]

[zilla_toggle title=”How do I submit a question that is not included in this FAQ document?” state=”closed”]Please submit any additional questions or comments at synergy@duraspace.org.[/zilla_toggle]