Open-source archives management system for accessioning, description, and access to collections, used by libraries and museums worldwide.
Researched and fact-checked by Bartu Cavusoglu · Updated July 18, 2026
ArchivesSpace is an open-source archives management system that originated in 2009 as a collaboration between NYU, UC San Diego, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, to merge the Archivists' Toolkit and Archon into a single next-generation system.
ArchivesSpace 1.0 was released on September 30, 2013, and the nonprofit Lyrasis (headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia) has served as the project's organizational home since 2012.
The platform provides a single integrated system for accessioning, arrangement, description, and preservation of archival collections, along with intellectual and physical collection control.
It supports digital objects alongside traditional physical materials, offers a customizable staff interface, and includes web-based access and discovery tools for the public.
ArchivesSpace is free to download and use. Optional paid membership, offered at five tiers through Lyrasis, provides technical support, access to user manuals, and voting rights on future development.
Yes, it's free to download and use, though optional paid membership tiers offer technical support and other benefits.
The nonprofit Lyrasis, based in Atlanta, Georgia, serves as the project's organizational home, supported by a community governance board.
ArchivesSpace 1.0 was released on September 30, 2013, following a project that began in 2009.
Archives, libraries, museums, academic institutions, and government repositories of all sizes.