Dear Colleague--

In less than a year, ArchivesSpace, the new online archives management
software suite that combines the best of Archivists’ Toolkit and Archon,
will be released. As a member of the ArchivesSpace development team, I am
writing on behalf of the libraries of NYU, UC San Diego and the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to provide you with information about the
ArchivesSpace membership model which will be a key component in
sustainability of the ArchivesSpace software and community.

*ArchivesSpace Membership*
The ArchivesSpace membership is part of a new model for open source
software. Through Archivists’ Toolkit and Archon, archival management
software has become a critical piece of processing, managing, and making
information about archival collections available to both staff and users.
ArchivesSpace software development has been supported by The Andrew W.
Mellon Foundation, but there is no Mellon funding for its continued
operation.  An essential component of our development project has been to
design a sustainability and governance model that will keep ArchivesSpace
robust and maximally useful, and that will provide ongoing support for its
users.

To address the long-term needs of support, development, training, and
documentation, we saw the need both for membership and for an
“organizational home” for the software.   Membership is for individual
organizations that will use ArchivesSpace, either locally or through a
hosted service. The organizational home, LYRASIS, will assume the
responsibilities from us, the project partners, to keep the software
up-to-date, relevant, and meeting the needs of the archives community in
concert with community governance. We have devised a governance structure
consisting of a Governance Board, Users Advisory Council, and Technical
Advisory Council; these groups will be formed and populated by
ArchivesSpace members.  LYRASIS will hire two dedicated, full-time staff
members, an ArchivesSpace Program Manager and an ArchivesSpace Developer,
to manage the ongoing support, documentation, maintenance and development
needs on behalf of the members.  Membership dues revenue will make this
long-term commitment possible.

*So What Does ArchivesSpace Membership Mean?*
In this new model for open source software sustainability, your membership
means ongoing funds to continue ArchivesSpace development so it can better
meet community needs.  The current project will produce version 1.0 in late
July, but ongoing fixes and upgrades will be desired. Some organizations
may want to contribute code to be integrated into later releases either in
an ongoing or feature-based way.  Still others will want an opportunity to
see and hear about the latest developments of ArchivesSpace or contribute
new feature requests or documentation enhancements. Most organizations will
want access to the most recent documentation and support (listserv, direct
email, and phone). These are all possible through membership.

ArchivesSpace members receive the following benefits:
- Access to dedicated ArchivesSpace support (member listserv, direct email,
and phone);
- Access to the extensive documentation (all levels of help/training
documentation);
- The ability to serve on the Governance Board, Users Advisory Council, and
the Technical Advisory Council and set directions for ArchivesSpace
- Access to migration tools and any help documentation associated with them;
- The ability to commit code and ideas towards future development;
- and many more.

Organizations who choose not to join ArchivesSpace can continue to download
new releases of the software from its GitHub repository but will not enjoy
the full benefits of ongoing support or community engagement supported by
membership fees.

*Membership Options and Important Dates:*
ArchivesSpace has two membership models in place. This email and the
ArchivesSpace Brochure (available at http://goo.gl/iFmnE) provide
information about both options.


1.) *Charter Membership:* Available effective TODAY.  Any organization who
will use ArchivesSpace to help manage their archives may become a Charter
Member. Charter Members may sign up through MAY 31, 2013.
2.) *Regular Membership:* Available September 1, 2013 after the software is
released. Complete information is available in the brochure (available at
http://goo.gl/iFmnE) or on the ArchivesSpace website,
http://www.archivesspace.org


Because the Charter Membership option is available for a short time, here
is more extensive information about Charter Membership.

*Charter Member Benefits *
• Opportunity to participate in and shape the initial Board, User Advisory
Council, and Technical Advisory Council, including exclusive eligibility
for election or appointment to these initial governance bodies (general
members will not be eligible for election to the governing groups before
2014).
• An extended, initial membership period lasting through December 31, 2014
(more than a year of paid membership).
• Participation in the development of the initial ArchivesSpace user,
technical, and services roadmaps, including beta releases of the product.
• Access to early releases of migration tools to move data from Archivists’
Toolkit and Archon to ArchivesSpace.
• Preferred access to news, updates, etc.
• Recognition through the placement of your institution name, logo, and
link on the ArchivesSpace website.
• Use of the “ArchivesSpace Charter Member” icon.
Join ArchivesSpace now as a Charter Member and take advantage of this
limited-time opportunity, ending May 31, 2013.

*Charter Membership*
Charter Membership is a one-time membership option, only available through
May 31, 2013. The Charter Membership fee includes the first year of general
membership and is based on the type and size of your institution:
• $ 500 – Very Small organizations (includes $300 first-year membership)
• $ 2,000 – Small organizations (includes $1,000 first-year membership)
• $ 6,000 – Medium-sized organizations (includes $3,000 first-year
membership)
• $10,000 – Large organizations (includes $5,000 first-year membership)
• $15,000 – Very Large organizations (includes $7,500 first-year membership)

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to be a part of the initial launch of
ArchivesSpace as a Charter Member and lead the way in online archives
management software. To join us as a Charter Member, please contact the
ArchivesSpace Program Office at *[log in to unmask]*.

*Institutions interested in supporting ArchivesSpace in consortial or
hosted settings should also please contact the ArchivesSpace Program Office
at **[log in to unmask] *

For more information about ArchivesSpace general membership, please see the
brochure (available at http://goo.gl/iFmnE) or visit
ArchivesSpace.org<http://www.archivesspace.org/>
.



On behalf of the ArchivesSpace Team,


Mark A. Matienzo | [log in to unmask]

Technical Architect, ArchivesSpace

http://archivesspace.org/