IPSWICH, Mass. — August 31, 2021 — Massey University Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa (Massey) in New Zealand is adopting the FOLIO Library Services Platform (LSP) with hosting and service support from EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) through EBSCO FOLIO.
In selecting FOLIO, the university staff highlighted the factors that influenced the decision to move to FOLIO.
- FOLIO is the first newly built library services platform in nearly 10 years, so it uses the latest applications technologies.
- There are large-scale changes under way in library collection metadata. FOLIO is built from scratch to be data-format agnostic and make use of open linked data, which library staff expects to give it an advantage in the future as the library profession moves beyond MARC.
- Selecting FOLIO hosted and supported by EBSCO gives libraries an easy introduction to open source, by providing many of the benefits of open source (transparency, community-driven development, the ability to build library-specific system functionality) while retaining the security and assurance of hosting and support by a trusted vendor.
- Moving to FOLIO allows the library to take advantage of close integrations between the library services platform and existing library resources.
Massey University Provost, Professor Giselle Byrnes, says the university has a history of adopting the latest technology. “Massey was the first university library in New Zealand to automate, going live with the VTLS system in 1984, and the first in New Zealand to select the Innopac system in 1994. We are proud to continue that tradition by being the first library in New Zealand to select the new open-source library services platform FOLIO, hosted and supported by EBSCO.” Professor Byrnes says the decision will have immediate and long-term benefits. “FOLIO offers immediate improvements in functionality that will benefit our patrons, and we expect FOLIO’s future development will bring further benefits.”
University Librarian, Linda Palmer expects the adoption of FOLIO to have benefits for library staff and library users alike. “We believe FOLIO will provide a wider, more effective and intuitive service for Massey’s staff and students in the discovery of, and access to, the range of scholarly resources available.”
EBSCO is able to leverage its experience developing the FOLIO platform, its expertise in hosting and supporting implementations, and FOLIO’s built-in interoperability to provide the right services to libraries. Customers benefit by having more choice to make the best decisions for their institutions.
Associate University Librarian, Resources and Technology, Tim Darlington says the FOLIO adoption allows the library to leverage its existing services. “Because Massey is already using EBSCO Discovery Service and EBSCO Holdings and Link Management, patrons will retain a sense of continuity alongside the improvements the new platform will bring.” As an e-preferred library that uses evidence–based acquisition, Massey is a GOBI® library which makes robust integrations possible between the FOLIO LSP and the library’s book ordering system.
EBSCO FOLIO customers experience improved workflows because of seamless integrations with EBSCO services. Libraries using EBSCO Discovery Service™ can realize automatic syncing between the Discovery Layer and the ILS along with an intuitive search platform that users know and trust. GOBI customers using FOLIO will benefit from a streamlined book selection and acquisition workflow. When an order is placed in GOBI, it is seamlessly reflected in FOLIO with the purchase number, bib record, and all associated order details and can be processed via electronic invoicing.
Massey will incorporate analytics into their FOLIO implementation by leveraging EBSCO’s new library analytics platform Panorama™, which can be used to report on FOLIO logs for essential functions such as acquisitions, circulation and inventory –– providing traditional ILS reporting areas as well as COUNTER usage reporting. EBSCO FOLIO’s electronic resource management integrations extend to EBSCONET® allowing sites to manage their subscription workflows including agreements, licenses, holdings management, orders and renewals which takes advantage of the EBSCO Knowledge Base. EBSCO FOLIO will also integrate with a library's preferred authentication method including seamless integration with OpenAthens for single sign-on.
The FOLIO Platform is a collaboration of libraries, vendors and developers, that have come together to build an open-source library services platform. Unlike a traditional integrated library system (ILS), FOLIO allows anyone to build on its core functionality or extend the platform through development of applications that deliver new services. FOLIO supports core library management functionality across domains including circulation, cataloging, acquisitions and electronic resource management.
About EBSCO Information Services
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) is the preeminent provider of online research content and search technologies serving academic, school and public libraries; healthcare and medical institutions; corporations; and government agencies around the world. From research, acquisition management, subscription services and discovery to clinical decision support and patient care, learning, and research and development, EBSCO provides institutions with access to content and resources to serve the information and workflow needs of their users and organizations. EBSCO Information Services is a division of EBSCO Industries, Inc., a family owned company since 1944. For more information, visit the EBSCO website at: www.ebsco.com.
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For more information, please contact:
Kathleen McEvoy
Vice President of Communications
kmcevoy@ebsco.com
(978) 414–0443
