Partnering to Advance the Library of the Future

EPAM’s Open Source Expertise Drives Success with EBSCO

At a glance

CLIENT

EBSCO

SERVICE

Open Source

INDUSTRY

Business Information & Publishing

EPAM has become a true partner to EBSCO in developing and constantly improving a leading open source library services platform, used by some of the world’s most consequential libraries. With our multidisciplinary approach, we have helped foster flexibility, innovation and user-friendly functionality for librarians and patrons worldwide.

FUTURE-READY FLEXIBILITY

Revolutionizing the Library Experience

FOLIO is an open source library services platform (LSP) that serves as a modular, constantly evolving resource for libraries. Launched in 2016, FOLIO (Future of Libraries is Open) is designed to foster collaboration among developers and librarians, enabling apps to be built to deliver more choice and better services and features for end users. It’s built for librarians by librarians and library service providers.

EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) is a leading provider of products and services to libraries, with customers all over the world. A founding member of the FOLIO project, EBSCO remains a key contributor, providing development project management and marketing and communications resources as a member of the FOLIO community. EBSCO has created a team to provide hosting and service support to make FOLIO a viable option for libraries of all sizes, including libraries that don’t have large technical services staffs to manage the heavy migration process or system maintenance.

More than 100 major libraries across the globe, including some of the largest and most complex, are currently using EBSCO FOLIO. The world’s largest library, the Library of Congress, recently announced it had chosen EBSCO FOLIO, citing the need for a user-centered approach that is flexible and secure.

ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE

Opening Up Possibility

EBSCO engaged EPAM early in its work on the FOLIO project. We were hired for our engineering capabilities to help develop FOLIO faster and better. With a proven track record in open source development, EPAM was a natural choice, and our role quickly grew to that of a supporting engineering partner.

There was nothing like FOLIO on the market. Now, instead of commercial solutions that rely on a particular vendor’s plan, libraries of any size have a novel approach in FOLIO, which is user-centered and built to evolve. Its open source approach removes an enormous budget item from libraries and allows them to seek out the services provider that is best suited to their needs. Most libraries using FOLIO use EBSCO — a testament to the work EBSCO has done to provide the best resources, service and support to customers.

HEAR FROM EBSCO

“EPAM's multidisciplinary product development team worked closely with EBSCO throughout every aspect of the FOLIO project, from requirements gathering and analysis to implementation and launch. EBSCO's choice to partner with EPAM was a strategic decision, driven by EPAM's technical excellence, its global footprint and ability to collaborate effectively, ultimately leading the FOLIO project to success. EPAM's extensive cross-industry experience and skilled software engineers made them a natural choice for FOLIO’s technology requirements and complex challenges.”

Mark Veksler
Senior Vice President, Agile Development

Powering Knowledge

EPAM contributed our full range of software development expertise to the project including planning, analysis and architectural design, implementation, testing, deployment, risk management and maintenance.

FOLIO is built on modern architecture to ensure ongoing innovation. There are more than 3,800 contributors—with that number steadily growing—who share both technical and non-technical expertise to continually improve FOLIO across library workflows. Their ideas and feedback are what drive progress, delivering the best of what open source has to offer: sustainable community collaboration that leads to smarter features and services.

FOLIO uses microservice architecture, which enables rapid, independent development and a simplified application update process. Microservices are language-agnostic; the popular Java and Java Script languages are both commonly used in the project. The FOLIO Platform includes standard integrated library system (ILS) modules such as circulation, cataloging and acquisitions.

With cloud and on-prem hosting options, FOLIO is as flexible as it is adaptable.

RESULTS

200+

Apps and modules built by EBSCO with EPAM

100+

Libraries using EBSCO/FOLIO

3,800+

Contributors to FOLIO

Building a Modern Library Technology

EPAM has been with FOLIO from the beginning, contributing to 201 apps and modules and counting. We’ve introduced EngX best practices to the community. EPAM’s Open Source project Carrier.IO is used for ongoing performance testing.

FOLIO’s features include:

Platform essentials, which cover
key functionality

Users, the app that manages information for both patrons and library staff

Resource access (circulation), which manages checkouts, returns and holds

Resource management (acquisitions), which is associated with financial transactions
Metadata management (cataloging), which includes physical and/or virtual items

Electronic resource management, including agreements and licenses

Dashboard, the app that offers a personalized view of information via widgets

Reporting with the Library Data Platform, which allows for complex analytics using FOLIO data

Seeing the Future

The result of our partnership with EBSCO is a library resource that makes it easy to access the full lifecycle of library management services including cataloging, inventory, circulation of books, circulation of electronic sources, networking among libraries and more.

Users include large universities (Texas A&M, Cornell, Michigan State) as well as public libraries (Shanghai Library, the biggest library in China) and specialized libraries (Notre Dame Law Library).

EPAM’s ongoing partnership with EBSCO promises exciting innovations in library management solutions, enabling libraries worldwide to benefit from the open, extensible nature of FOLIO.

TECH STACK