Membership Talking Points

Why become a member of CollectionSpace?

What do I get for my investment?

Is there a sense of urgency? Why should I become a member now?

Shorter version

Membership protects your investment in CollectionSpace and ensures that the software we develop together today remains viable for years to come.

Membership fees support our efforts to advance the accessibility of free, community-supported software in support of core collections management activities, by sustaining the non-profit that provides sustainability planning, community development, technical leadership, marketing and communications, and more.

Longer version

Membership protects your investment in CollectionSpace and ensures that the software we develop together today remains viable for years to come.

CollectionSpace is managed by a non-profit that provides sustainability planning, community development, technical leadership, marketing and communications, and facilitation and coordination for governance activities, special project collaborations, and strategic partnerships. Membership fees support our efforts to advance the accessibility of free, community-supported software that supports the set of core activities - managing the physical and digital items in our collections, documenting transactions such as acquisitions and loans, and sharing information about our collections with the public - that are at the heart of professional practice for those who manage collections and the information that is generated over the lifecycle of collections ownership and care.

Additional talking points

CSpace commitment to members:

• Provide a legal home for the CollectionSpace community and software

• Manage and maintain CollectionSpace productivity and communication tools (Jira, wiki, etc.)

• Provide sustainability planning, community development, technical leadership, marketing and communications, and facilitation and coordination for governance activities, special project collaborations, and strategic partnerships

Member commitment to CSpace (CSA analogy)

• Annual financial commitment

• Participate in governance

• Community advocacy

Benefits to Members

• CollectionSpace software

• Governance

• Engage directly w/program team

• Priority consideration for bugs

Member Outreach and Advocacy

Opportunity to take leadership role - be a leader/mentor in the field of community supported software.

CollectionSpace is the only community-supported collections management application, and that’s meaningful. We are the only community that puts our members front and center in terms of governance - where direction is set and priorities are shaped. This model only works if we have a commitment from our members to participate in the community -  not just financially, but by serving on committees, advocating for the application, working actively to improve it via code contributions, functional requirements, QA testing, etc.

The more implementers and members we have, the more we all benefit. New members bring more than just funding, they bring code contributions, new use cases and functionality specifications, and new opportunities for partnerships and collaborations.

This community is special because of its diversity. CollectionSpace was designed to break through the silos in our organizations, both among and within departments. CollectionSpace the community can do the same, allowing organizations from disparate communities to work together to solve common problems.

Our members are our strongest advocates, and our best showcase for the software’s capabilities.

Members take a leadership role in:

• Governance - where direction is set and priorities are shaped

• Influence the future of CollectionSpace

• Software development - functional requirements and development priorities

• Community advocacy - conferences, workshops, demos