Join the Community

Welcome to the DSpace Open Source Community

DSpace is an open source software platform developed and supported by our user community, with the help and guidance of LYRASIS. The community welcomes your interest and participation. Currently, there are over 3000 instances of DSpace running worldwide, so you are in good company.

Register Your DSpace Instance

There are over 3000 DSpace repositories around the world. Please take the time to register your site so you are included in our growing list of  “Who’s Using DSpace?”. We encourage DSpace users to participate in the community and also become a member. 

Join the Community Mailing Lists

The primary way DSpace users discuss issues and communicate with one another is through the various mailing lists. The DSpace community has three very active mailing lists where you can meet other DSpace users and developers, learn more about the community and the software, get answers to technical questions, and hear of upcoming events.

Other support options are also listed on our wiki.

Become a Member and take part in Project Governance

DSpace Members are leaders from university, research, library organizations, and others, who have made a financial commitment to our open source projects. As such they have become a partner in governance, ensuring that the DSpace project continues to serve the global communities.

Benefits of Membership

Your membership dollars support  efforts to advance the design, development and sustainability of DuraSpace Community-Supported Programs Division of LYRASIS including: DSpace, Fedora, VIVO, and other open source software programs that are under the LYRASIS umbrella.

It is through the support and collaboration of our members that we can continue to advance our programs to meet the evolving needs of our community. Your financial support and engagement is critical to keep our programs strong. By becoming a member of the DuraSpace Community Supported Software, you become a partner in program leadership with a voice in ensuring that these programs continue to serve the global communities that depend on them into the future.

Complete this online form to receive more information on becoming a member of DSpace.

Additional Support via Registered Service Providers

Registered Service Providers have made an investment in DSpace technology and a commitment to work cooperatively with LYRASIS to best serve the community of users.  If you require advanced support or hosting of your DSpace, we recommend contacting one (or more) of our registered service providers for a quote.

Share news or your story with us about DSpace

Contact DSpace Marketing and Interest Group Chair Jenn Bielewski (Jennifer.Bielewski@lyrasis.org) to contribute news or blog post or complete this form.

Monitor Platform Development Work and Make Feature Requests

The DSpace community uses the DSpace wiki to track, prioritize, and guide its work. In addition to tracking the DSpace platform development work, Jira also allows the community to watch specific issues — receive updates when there are changes — as well as vote on an issue’s relevance. Although there are no guarantees when a specific item will be addressed, the community can build a consensus on items captured in Jira and it will enhance the visibility of that issue. 

Contribute Code or Other Efforts to the Community

The success of any open source project lies with the community contributing its collective energy, information, enthusiasm, and effort. There are many ways to contribute to DSpace — not just in writing code. See our Contributors page for ideas of how you can help further the DSpace project — there’s a role for everyone.