IPSWICH, Mass. — November 29, 2017 — EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) is teaming up with Chalmers University of Technology to serve as the first FOLIO beta partner. As a touchstone for the global academic library community, Chalmers Library will prove out FOLIO’s ability to satisfy traditional resource management requirements while allowing for extensibility into new services based on a vibrant new technology ecosystem for libraries.
FOLIO, a community collaboration to develop an open source LSP, is being built in collaboration with more than a dozen organizations worldwide. The beta program is an instrumental step in developing and establishing FOLIO as the primary platform shared globally for library management and enablement.
Chalmers University Head of the Department of Communication and Learning in Science and Library Director, Daniel Forsman says the beta partnership allows Chalmers to explore, learn and share its work within the FOLIO community. “The promise of a modern, flexible and open systems architecture provides us with capabilities that go beyond a library service platform. The true strength of FOLIO is, however, not the technology but the network of libraries and service providers collaborating and sharing a vision of an open eco-system for services and content.”
Forsman says the partnership will have benefits beyond the university. “Implementing FOLIO, replacing our costly and bloated library systems, with more tailored workflows is just the first step. I am certain we will be surprised and gain insights from the community as we continue to innovate and develop more efficient and stronger user experiences. But my hope for FOLIO does not end with benefits for users at Chalmers University of Technology, I see a framework that has the potential to communicate and utilize our research and education for a global audience.”
The partnership will also help EBSCO develop hosting and services that will enable libraries of all sizes to leverage the full benefits of FOLIO, ultimately demonstrating its viability as a practical and compelling library services platform.
EBSCO Information Services Senior Vice President of SaaS Products and Platforms John Law says having Chalmers University of Technology as a beta site will provide EBSCO with essential, actionable information as part of the development process. “Daniel’s vision, insight and expertise as an innovation leader in the academic library sector along with the advanced posture of the Chalmers Library will play a critically important role ensuring the success of FOLIO. The fundamental goal of this beta program is to deliver a highly functional, increasingly powerful technology platform to advance the capabilities of Chalmers Library.”
FOLIO, which stands for the Future of Libraries is Open, is a community coming together to develop a reimagined library services platform, one that supports traditional resource management requirements and functionality, yet is engineered for innovation and growth through industry collaboration. FOLIO allows for extensibility into new services for libraries and will dramatically change the technology ecosystem available to libraries, service providers and technology developers.
About FOLIO
FOLIO is a collaborative effort among libraries, vendors, developers and consortia that leverages open source technology and a community-based effort to redefine library services and innovate based on library futures. By building on what libraries need and by leveraging library expertise as well as vendor capacity and velocity, FOLIO is designed to move libraries forward, build on the services they provide and redefine the role libraries play within their institution. FOLIO also levels the playing field and makes open source technology available to all institutions regardless of size or staffing. FOLIO brings vendors together to innovate and host services for customers and introduces open source as a service to libraries. To sign up to participate or receive more information go to www.folio.org.
About EBSCO Information Services
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) is the leading discovery service provider for libraries worldwide with more than 11,000 discovery customers in over 100 countries. EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS) provides each institution with a comprehensive, single search box for its entire collection, offering unparalleled relevance ranking quality and extensive customization. EBSCO is also the preeminent provider of online research content for libraries, including hundreds of research databases, historical archives, point-of-care medical reference, and corporate learning tools serving millions of end users at tens of thousands of institutions. EBSCO is the leading provider of electronic journals & books for libraries, with subscription management for more than 360,000 serials, including more than 57,000 e-journals, as well as online access to more than 1,000,000 e-books. For more information, visit the EBSCO website at: www.ebsco.com. EBSCO Information Services is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., a family owned company since 1944.
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For more information, please contact:
Kathleen McEvoy
Vice President of Communications
(800) 653-2726 ext. 2594
kmcevoy@ebsco.com
