INDIANAPOLIS and DREXEL HILL, Pa.— The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) and the Partnership for Academic Library Collaboration and Innovation (PALCI) are pleased to announce a new partnership with Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI) to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Hyku, the open-source digital repository platform. Through this project, the Hyku for Consortia team—along with key stakeholders in the Samvera Hyku Community and IOI—will support the development of a co-investment and community decision-making model designed to ensure the Hyku platform remains robust, community-driven, and financially sustainable.
Hyku enables libraries, archives, and cultural institutions to manage, preserve, and provide access to digital collections—from research outputs to archival materials—without relying on commercial systems. Initially developed and advanced through grant funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Hyku for Consortia has provided libraries with an affordable, flexible repository option while cultivating a strong collaborative community. This partnership with IOI marks the next step in Hyku’s evolution, transitioning from grant funding and siloed development streams to a sustainable, community-focused co-investment and decision-making model.
“Hyku already has an incredibly committed group of adopters with a strong desire to work together for greater effect,” says Jill Morris, PALCI Executive Director. “We are eager to harness that energy and apply what we learn through this process to ensure our long-term collective success and the overall sustainability of the platform.”
Through this project, IOI will guide the Sustaining Hyku Steering Group and stakeholders to:
"Hyku represents an important case study for open infrastructure sustainability,” says Lauren Collister, IOI Research Engagement Manager. “As a growing community, Hyku is actively encountering the critical questions many open source projects face: how to balance governance with technical leadership, fund essential maintenance alongside new features, and build sustainable financial models. Working with Hyku gives us a unique opportunity to develop and explore practical approaches that can benefit the broader open infrastructure ecosystem."
For libraries, this co-investment structure means lower costs, stronger collaboration, and direct influence over the tools they use. For students, researchers, and the public, it ensures reliable, long-term access to scholarship and cultural heritage in an open environment.
“PALNI is very fortunate to have such strong partnerships with high levels of expertise,” says Kirsten Leonard, PALNI Executive Director. “IOI has been studying the open infrastructure space for many years. We look forward to their suggestions to further strengthen the collaborative community around Hyku and within Samvera.”
The project runs from August 2025 through January 2026, with deliverables including a governance model, implementation plan, and financial roadmap through 2029. It is made possible through the Sustaining the Hyku Repository Platform: Addressing Hyku’s Unique Community Coordination and Collaboration Challenges grant project, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
For progress updates, visit the Hyku for Consortia website at https://hykuforconsortia.palni.org. You can also visit PALNI (www.palni.org), PALCI (www.palci.org), and IOI (https://investinopen.org/) online.
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The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) is a non-profit organization that supports collaboration for library and information services for 23 colleges, universities and seminaries throughout the state. From its inception in 1992, the PALNI collaboration has been a key avenue for its supported institutions to contain costs while providing more effective library services. More recently, PALNI has adopted a model of deep collaboration that pools resources and people as a tool to expand services while containing costs. Simultaneously, PALNI is expanding collaboration within its institutions and with external library partners to address challenges and build cost-effective services. Visit the PALNI website for more information. (www.palni.org)
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The Partnership for Academic Library Collaboration and Innovation (PALCI) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) consortium of 80 academic and research libraries in Pennsylvania and the surrounding region. Together, PALCI members serve more than 800,000 students, faculty, and staff in five states by advancing cost-effective and sustainable access to information resources and services. Known for its applied innovation, high-impact group negotiations, and the widely used EZBorrow consortial interlibrary loan service, PALCI supports collaboration through shared collections programs, resource sharing services, and pioneering standards-based approaches to library technology. Founded in 1996 as the Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium, Inc., PALCI continues to foster collective solutions that strengthen libraries and the communities they serve. See the full list of PALCI member libraries, here.
Invest in Open Infrastructure was founded to further the visibility of, investment in, and adoption of open infrastructure solutions for research and scholarship. Since its launch in 2020, IOI has conducted thousands of interviews and researched hundreds of solutions to support funders, institutional administrators, and researchers worldwide in aligning their open science aims and practices with the underlying technology to support their work.
IOI is a leading research-based nonprofit and mission-driven initiative focused on open research infrastructure. IOI is fiscally sponsored by Code for Science & Society, a US-based 501c3 dedicated to advancing the power of data to improve lives. As an organization, IOI is deeply committed to openness and service to advance equitable access and participation in research across all disciplines and jurisdictions.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America's museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.