IPSWICH, Mass. — March 3, 2017 — EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) is introducing the EBSCO FOLIO Innovation Challenge. The grant program will award $100,000 in grants to libraries to develop innovative technology solutions that address the challenges academic libraries face.
A total of $100,000 will be awarded to multiple institutions—grants between $5,000 and $20,000 each. The EBSCO FOLIO Innovation Challenge grants will be awarded to projects that leverage the FOLIO codebase and address current opportunities in library technology. Grant winners also may have the opportunity to take part in a startup incubator program designed to support the creation of tools for academic libraries.
EBSCO Information Services Director of SaaS Innovation, Andrew Nagy, says the Innovation Challenge is expected to draw developers from institutions around the world. “FOLIO has a great international community working together to improve libraries. As Open Source software with a focus on collaboration and transparency that is being designed from the outset with a microservices architecture, the open platform allows us to more easily create and share innovations. We expect the Innovation Challenge to bring pioneering applications from a variety of organizations in multiple countries.”
In June 2016, the FOLIO project was announced to bring together libraries and service providers looking to reshape the future of libraries and develop new technologies. This community-based project, which stands for the Future of Libraries is Open, provides a platform for libraries, service providers and other organizations to team up to redefine library automation via open source projects and develop new applications that extend the library into new areas.
EBSCO is among the funders of the FOLIO project and is contributing resources to the development of the FOLIO library services platform (LSP). The Innovation Challenge is looking for apps that will change the way libraries interact with end users, faculty, and other departments. The goal is to extend the services libraries provide and improve the library workflow as well as how they serve their users.
Winning proposals will be designed to support academic libraries and will:
- Advance the adoption of FOLIO as a platform, support new services, and extend the library into new areas
- Solve a problem for libraries, not just a given institution
- Provide innovation in a current area of library technology
The FOLIO code and documentation is available at http://dev.folio.org. EBSCO FOLIO Innovation Challenge grants will be awarded between July 2017 and April 2018. Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals early at foliogrants@ebsco.com. Additional information is provided in an FAQ on the website.
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 900,000 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.
###
For more information, please contact:
Kathleen McEvoy
Vice President of Communications
(800) 653-2726 ext. 2594
kmcevoy@ebsco.com
