Amanda Hurford, Scholarly Communications Director, Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI)
Kirsten Leonard, Executive Director, Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI)
Jill Morris, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium (PALCI)
This project briefing shares an update about the Hyku for Consortia Project, its vision towards self-sustainability, and its diverse set of use cases. Consortia and libraries face a common challenge: the need for an affordable, easy-to-use, multi-tenant digital repository solution. The Hyku for Consortia Project emerged in response to this need, launching its self-funded production repository service in July 2023, following the successful completion of two Institute of Museum and Library Services-funded grants. With active implementations across four library consortia (PALCI, PALNI, VIVA, and the Boston Library Consortium (BLC)) encompassing over thirty libraries and growing, the scope of service continues to expand to serve the needs of these diverse institutions. This broad and diverse user base is a strength but also presents a fundamental challenge: connecting and intentionally coordinating the work of multiple user communities and developers across projects to ensure a sustainable, robust digital environment and efficient development of this vital digital infrastructure.