(Re)investing in a national repository infrastructure for cultural heritage

Since 2018, the British Library (BL) has invested considerable resource in establishing the necessary infrastructure for a national repository service for cultural heritage organisations, using Samvera Hyku. This has entailed working closely with all known Hyku suppliers and developers, as well as collaborating with the University of Virginia on an Arcadia-funded grant, Advancing Hyku. The Shared Repository Service was beta launched in 2020 and since 2021, the BL has received additional substantial investment from the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). This paper's aim is to demonstrate how 'infrastructure' comprises two parts: both technical and human. We will briefly outline some of the technical developments that we have implemented to develop Hyku as a next generation repository, and cover our approach towards developing the necessary skills in scholarly communications for those based UK cultural heritage organisations. By outlining the significant investment that is required to establish and maintain a successful service, we hope that sharing our experiences will be applicable to those adopting a relatively new repository platform as well as those hoping to launch other new platforms in the cultural heritage sector.