New York University, the University of California San Diego, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Lead the Archive Management System’s Creation Effort with Mellon Foundation Support

LYRASIS to Serve as Base for ArchivesSpace

New York University, the University of California San Diego, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Lead the Archive Management System’s Creation Effort with Mellon Foundation Support

ArchivesSpace project partners are pleased to announce that LYRASIS, the largest regional membership organization for libraries and information professionals in the US, will serve as the organizational home for the ArchivesSpace open source archives management system.  Supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the ArchivesSpace project is focused on developing the next generation archives management system, including a sustainable governance and support structure. Leading this effort are the libraries of New York University, the University of California San Diego, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, working in close collaboration with the archives community.

The identification of LYRASIS as the organizational home for ArchivesSpace is an important step toward ensuring a sustainable future for the financial, technical, and governance life of the ArchivesSpace system.  In turn, it ensures continuity for the hundreds of archives that now depend on the Archivists Toolkit (AT) or the Archon systems to support the management of and access to archives. Engaging the ArchivesSpace user community in a new membership and governance structure will be the central factor in sustaining a vibrant software tool. LYRASIS’ demonstrated ability to foster collaboration among its member libraries and other archival institutions positions it well to support this activity. Development of the ArchivesSpace software system is slated to commence in summer 2012, with release by the end of 2013.  For more information about the ArchivesSpace project, please visit http://www.archivesspace.org.

About LYRASIS:  Created in April 2009 by the merger of the PALINET and SOLINET library services consortia, and joined shortly thereafter by NELINET, LYRASIS is the largest regional membership organization serving libraries and information professionals in the United States.  LYRASIS includes more than 1700 member institutions across the US and internationally. Though large in scale, LYRASIS is known for its local touch - fostering collaboration and cooperation among members and facilitating their success through networking and programming, innovative solutions, and significant cost savings through group purchasing for products and services. For more information, please visit www.lyrasis.org.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, with more than thirteen million volumes, is the largest public university library in North America; its collections and services are used heavily by students, faculty, and scholars.  More than one million items are circulated annually, and many more are used on site and virtually from anywhere in the world.  Its website was visited more than 129 million times last year.  For more information about the UIUC Library, please visit www.library.illinois.edu.

The UC San Diego Libraries, ranked among the top 20 public academic research libraries in the nation, play an integral role in advancing and supporting the university's research, teaching, patient care, and public service missions. The UC San Diego Libraries provide access to more than 7 million digital and print volumes, journals, and multimedia materials to meet the knowledge demands of scholars, students, and members of the public. Each day, the Libraries' vast resources and services are accessed more than 87,500 times via the UCSD Libraries' Web site.  For more information about the UC San Diego Libraries: http://libraries.ucsd.edu/

The NYU Division of Libraries comprises five libraries in Manhattan and one each in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai. Its flagship, the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library on Washington Square, houses more than four million volumes and received 2.5 million visits last year. Around the world the Libraries offers access to more than 800,000 electronic journals, books, and databases; its website received three million visits last year. For more information about the NYU Libraries, please visit http://library.nyu.edu

 

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Christopher James
Christopher James
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