FOLIO (library services platform)

FOLIO
Developer	FOLIO Community
Stable release	Sunflower (R1 2025) / 2025-05-23
Preview release	Trillium / 2025-11-10
Written in	Java, JavaScript
Type	Library management system
License	Apache License 2.0
Website	www.folio.org
Repository	github.com/folio-org

FOLIO (stylized as FOLIO, from Latin folium "leaf") is an open-source¹, cloud-enabled software platform for library management systems developed by the international FOLIO community. Development began in 2015, led by the software company Index Data and funded by EBSCO Information Services. A runnable software platform was made publicly available in September 2016², and an early version including functional library modules was announced for 2018².

The software is designed to be easily extensible, capable of being operated either locally or as a multi-tenant cloud system, and to meet the requirements of academic libraries in the areas of metadata management, acquisitions, electronic resource management, circulation, user management, system administration, and integration.

The project aims to provide an open-source alternative to proprietary library systems such as Alma by Ex Libris and WorldShare Management Services (WMS) by OCLC.

Development of FOLIO began in 2015, led by Index Data².

• In 2016, the Open Library Foundation was established to provide governance, manage intellectual property, and coordinate community development of the platform².
• By 2018, FOLIO reached an early stage of maturity with the release of its first functional library management modules, enabling pilot implementations in academic library environments.
• In 2019, Chalmers University Library became one of the first academic libraries to adopt FOLIO in a production environment³.

During the 2020s, FOLIO saw increasing international adoption, with implementations and migration projects announced by library consortia and academic institutions in Europe and North America.

The software code is managed on GitHub⁴, and an introduction for prospective software developers is available on dev.folio.org⁵.

Technologies used include Vert.x and JSON for inter-module communication, React and Redux for the user interface, and RAML for the persistence interface.

The software platform—referred to as the "platform"—consists of a user interface framework, a message bus called "Okapi" for inter-process communication between modules, and a system administration layer including a database. Functional modules such as circulation and acquisitions are built on top of this platform.

FOLIO supports more than 25 languages.⁶ Example of usage⁷⁸.

• Durban University of Technology⁸
• Open Window Institute (RSA)⁸

• Jio Institute (India)⁸
• Shanghai Library⁸

• National Library of Australia⁹

• Chalmers University Library¹⁰¹¹
• National Széchényi Library⁸
• Suomen Pankki⁸
• Universidad de Zaragoza⁸
• Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig⁸

• Cornell University Library⁸
• Library of Congress⁸
• Stanford University Libraries⁸
• Texas A&M University Libraries⁸
• Universidad de Concepción⁸
• Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano⁸
• University of Chicago Library⁸

The Open Library Foundation was established in 2016¹² to manage organization, finances, and intellectual property rights. It is based in the United States and operates as a non-profit organization. In 2016, the community of the Kuali Open Library Environment project joined the foundation, leaving the Kuali Foundation to continue pursuing its goals using the new FOLIO platform.