The Open Library Environment, The Open Library Foundation, and FOLIO

What is the Open Library Environment (OLE) and what does it do?

The Open Library Environment is an organization of partner libraries and library networks dedicated to working together and collaboratively to developing open source, extensible and service-driven library management tools. OLE formed in 2008 and soon joined the Kuali Foundation to build Kuali OLE, an open source library management system currently in production at three partner libraries. OLE also sponsored the development of the Global Open Knowledgebase (GOKb), building an open source resource management knowledgebase. In 2016, OLE separated from the Kuali Foundation to co-sponsor the formation of the Open Library Foundation, and to dedicate OLE's efforts towards the FOLIO project. Libraries that see an open source library services platform as central to their strategic objectives are encouraged to explore partnership with OLE.

What is the Open Library Foundation and what does it do?

The Open Library Foundation was formed in 2016 as a not-for-profit corporation to assist and facilitate educational organizations, foundations, partnerships and commercial entities in collaborating to foster, develop and sustain open technologies and innovation to support libraries, learning, research and teaching. The Foundation, currently sponsored by EBSCO Information Services and OLE, is a legal entity that provides collaborative infrastructure and services to Foundation projects. Our inaugural projects are FOLIO, GOKb, and OLE. The Foundation seeks to support these collaborations and encourage new ones that are inclusive of the full range of stakeholders in the library community. Libraries interested in engaging with the Foundation projects - FOLIO, GOKb, OLE - or in establishing new collaborations are encouraged to contact the Open Library Foundation.

What is FOLIO and what does it do?

FOLIO stands for The Future of Libraries is Open and is an effort to develop an open source library services platform (LSP). At its heart, FOLIO is a collaborative community of librarians, designers, developers, service providers, and commercial vendors that are working to build the FOLIO platform and encourage innovative discussion and understanding of library management issues and strategic opportunities facing our community. FOLIO is open to wide participation by libraries, developers, vendors, and others. People, libraries, organizations interested in participating or contributing to FOLIO, or for using the FOLIO platform to develop functionality for libraries are encouraged to contact FOLIO.

How are OLE, the Foundation, and FOLIO related?

The Open Library Foundation provides the infrastructure for collaboration, operation, and sustainability of community-based efforts such as FOLIO. OLE, as a partnership of libraries dedicated to the full development of the FOLIO vision and capability, provides an organization that libraries can join to aggregate and amplify our voices in this effort. And FOLIO is a forum for discussion, thinking, and innovation about strategic technical infrastructure, and the development of open source solutions by the community. Each of these organizations support and reinforce the values and objectives of the others to form and provide an open ecosystem for innovating effective and efficient solutions for libraries.

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