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Earlier this month the Infrastructure Group responded to DuraSpace's request for comment on the Intent to Merge with LYRASIS.  Our full note can be found here.  

This week we received the following note back which was proceeded by DuraSpace's blog post about the Dissolution of Intent to Merge.  

- Carol 
On behalf of the Infrastructure Group


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Debra Hanken Kurtz <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Mon, May 16, 2016 at 1:20 PM
Subject: Re: Reply on Intent to Merge
To: Carol Kussmann <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: NDSA Infrastructure Working Group <[log in to unmask]>, Carol Minton Morris <[log in to unmask]>


Dear Carol,


Earlier today DuraSpace and LYRASIS announced the dissolution of the intent to merge. After extensive collaborative exploration, analysis, and discussion the DuraSpace and LYRASIS governing boards have concluded that the best way to preserve what is best and unique about their organizations is to work independently to continue to serve our members and communities most effectively.


The purpose of the four month intent to merge investigation was to explore publicly the proposal for merger in-depth. Much of what the NDSA articulated in your document highlighted the differences we thought would be too difficult to reconcile and ultimately, were not in the best interests of the broader community. We shared your concerns about the differences in membership models, approaches to openness, and continued support of hosted services to a diverse community. While DuraSpace strives to be commercial-friendly, we place a premium value on openness, inclusiveness, consensus-based decision-making, collaboration, transparency, and the contributions of our global community to sustain open source software. We will continue to provide free and open access to software and documentation. We will also continue to promote and champion traditional open source principles and transparency in our communications.


We are grateful to you, our community, and to LYRASIS for their engagement in this process. Broad community participation and contributions such as the NDSA document identified areas for exploration that made for a more complete and thorough evaluation. DuraSpace has deepened its understanding of its core mission and principles and we will build on what we have learned from this experience.


We have the utmost respect for our LYRASIS colleagues and we will look for ways to collaborate in the future. Learning about the significant and complementary work being accomplished by each organization on behalf of our broad communities during the exploratory process has advanced our understanding of our respective roles in supporting the scholarly ecosystem. We wish our LYRASIS colleagues great success in all of their endeavors.


Once again thank you for your participation and support. We look forward to now directing all our energy to our community and to their community supported open source software and related services. If you have additional questions or concerns, I would be happy to discuss them live, via the technology of your choice or in-person at Open Repositories or some time when we find ourselves in the same city.


I am truly honored and excited to lead DuraSpace in this next chapter for our organization. I look forward to greater engagement with the NDSA and other organizations who share our commitment to preserving our cultural and academic record.


Sincerely,


---debra hanken kurtz

CEO/DuraSpace



On May 5, 2016, at 10:06 AM, Carol Kussmann <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Please accept the following on behalf of the NDSA Infrastructure working group.  We reviewed the intent to merge post (http://duraspace.org/node/2775) and together documented comments/concerns/questions.  

Replies can be sent to the group at: ndsa-infrastructure@lists.clir.org

Best Regards,
Carol Kussmann on behalf of the NDSA Infrastructure Working Group

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Carol Kussmann
Digital Preservation Analyst
Digital Preservation and Repository Technologies | University of Minnesota Libraries
499 Wilson Library, 309 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455


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