New foundation supports DSpace users

Share this on social media:

HP and the MIT Libraries have formed the DSpace Foundation. This non-profit organisation will support the growing community of institutions that use the open-source DSpace software for accessing, managing and preserving scholarly works in a digital archive.

More than 200 projects worldwide use DSpace, which HP and the MIT Libraries began developing in 2002. The new foundation is intended to provide leadership and support to this growing community and promote wider distribution and use. Michele Kimpton, formerly of the Internet Archive, will be the foundation's executive director.

'DSpace lets large institutions like libraries, research laboratories and universities preserve and share their valuable content online, creating a vast digital repository of information that allows for an unprecedented level of collaboration among the worldwide research community,' said Shane Robison, HP executive vice-president and chief strategy and technology officer. 'DSpace was born from the long-standing relationship between HP and MIT, and it’s a great example of what’s possible when industry and academia collaborate.'

'The creation of the DSpace Foundation and Michele Kimpton’s appointment are important steps in the evolution of DSpace,' said Ann J. Wolpert, director of MIT Libraries. 'Together these actions signal that both the platform and the community have successfully reached the point where an independent organisation is needed to direct the project.'