This document summarizes the evolution of the open source repository software Fedora into the Samvera community. It describes how Fedora began as a flexible digital repository system in the 2000s. The Hydra Project was later formed to develop easier interfaces and workflows for Fedora. Hydra grew into a collaborative community between universities. In 2017, Hydra rebranded as Samvera to emphasize community and partnership. Samvera now provides user interfaces and solutions like Hyrax and Avalon that are built on Fedora's repository capabilities. The community is worldwide with over 35 partner institutions contributing code on GitHub. Samvera addresses different use cases through collaboration and works to build sustainable open source solutions for digital repositories.

1. From Hydra to Samvera: evolution
of an open source repository
community
Chris Awre
Head of Information Services, University of Hull & Samvera Steering Group member
EuropeanaTech conference
Rotterdam, 15 May 2018

2. Five reasons to use Fedora (Hull 2005)
 Fedora is content agnostic
 Fedora is (open) standards‐based
 Fedora is scalable
 Fedora understands how pieces of content relate to each other
 Fedora is manageable with limited resource
• With help from the community

3. Five reasons to use Fedora
 Fedora is content agnostic
 Fedora is (open) standards‐based
 Fedora is scalable
 Fedora understands how pieces of content relate to each other
 Fedora is manageable with limited resource
• With help from the community
Fedora is flexible!

4. Fedora and Hydra
• Fedora can be complex in enabling its flexibility
• How can the richness of the Fedora system be enabled through simpler
interfaces and interactions?
• The Hydra Project endeavoured to address this
• Not an out of the box solution, but a toolkit that enables use of Fedora’s capabilities
more easily

5. Hydra
• A collaborative project between:
• University of Hull
• University of Virginia
• Stanford University
• Fedora Commons/DuraSpace
• MediaShelf LLC (now Data Curation Experts)
• Unfunded (in itself)
• Activity based on identification of a common need
• Working towards a reusable framework for multipurpose, multifunction,
multi‐institutional repository‐enabled solutions
• Timeframe ‐ 2008‐11 (but then extended indefinitely)

6. Fundamental Assumption #1
No single system can provide the full range of repository-
based solutions for a given institution’s needs,
…yet sustainable solutions require a
common repository infrastructure.
No single institution can resource the development of a full
range of solutions on its own,
…yet each needs the flexibility to tailor
solutions to local demands and workflows.
Fundamental Assumption #2

7. Hydra’s development
• 2010 – First software committed to github
• 2011 – Initial partners implement initial local repository solutions
• 2012 – Hydra Partner scheme developed and first Partners join project
• 2013 – Hydra solution sets released (Avalon/Sufia). Partners increase to 18
• 2014 – First annual Hydra Connect conference held
• 2015 – Hydra‐in‐a‐box project starts. Partners now at 28 institutions
• 2016 – Hydra enters formal support services agreement with DuraSpace
• 2017 – First release of Hyku and Hyrax

8. July 2017 – Hydra becomes Samvera

9. Hydra is now Samvera
• Samvera is Icelandic for ‘togetherness’ or ‘being together’
• Reinforces the development of the community
• Working together to create repository solutions
• Building individual solutions based on a common basis
• Underlying components and solutions with their own brands
• Hyrax, Hyku, Avalon…
• http://samvera.org
• Partnership now (May 2018) at 35 institutions

12. Fedora and Samvera
Storage
Fedora
Samvera Samvera provides user interfaces and workflows
over the repository
Fedora is the digital repository system, holding
the content in a highly structured way
The content is stored either locally or in the
Cloud
Samvera
Samvera Samvera

13. Samvera in technical action

14. Openness, with quality embedded
• All code is on github
• samvera and samvera‐labs
• Code environment of choice is Ruby on Rails, with integrated testing
• Committers process of nomination based on demonstrated practice
• Formal Contributor Licensing Agreement
• For institutions and individuals
• Code contribution principles
• Everything must be tested and shown to be working before it gets accepted
• https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/hydra/Hydra+Community+Principles

15. Creating a sustainable open source project
Technology Community

16. A worldwide presence

17. Samvera community
• Samvera Connect
• Interest / Working Group community activity
• Mailing lists, Slack, Skype/Hangouts
• https://wiki.duraspace.org/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=43910187

18. Samvera Governance
• 2018 – Partners agree on path toward new governance structure
• Samvera Steering to be elected from Partnership
• Roadmap Council to oversee technical roadmaps for Samvera components
• Looking at staffing options and associated fundraising

19. Samvera: building what we need
• Samvera has always been about building what institutions need
• If this hadn’t been the case it would have ended long ago
• Challenges
• Do more with less
• Do it fast enough
• Do it well
• The Samvera Way ‐ Working in Community
• Shared Purpose
• Continual Engagement & Assessment
• Tangible Results

20. Reflections
• Hull could only have provided local solution through collaboration
• Success has come through ability to address different use cases, but also
good software choice and design
• Internal use cases now being driven by external requirements (esp. Open
Access)
• Samvera can’t do everything now, but provides the capability and
confidence that we can adapt and implement solutions to meet needs, now
and in the future
• Our (Hull and Samvera) digital curation journey is ongoing

21. Thank you
c.awre@hull.ac.uk
For more information, see article at https://insights.uksg.org/articles/10.1629/uksg.383/