A new partnership between EBSCO and the French Open Source software and services company, BibLibre, continues EBSCO’s support of Open Source software that offers flexible options to libraries.
BibLibre provides Open Source software and services to both large and small scale libraries in France and across Europe. With over 120 customers respresenting 500 libraries currently using BibLibre services, EBSCO views this partnership as an important avenue for promoting high-quality research resources to institutions in this region.
Ron Burns, EBSCO’s VP of Global Software Services, explains, “We recognize the importance of partnering with Open Source providers like BibLibre in an effort to expand options for libraries in providing a better user experience for discovery (of a library’s resources), while supporting Open Source ideals. We also recognize that BibLibre covers a significant population of library users in Europe and we look forward to working closely with BibLibre to support these users.”
The partnership will strengthen the interoperability between EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) and Koha, an Open Source ILS deployed by Biblibre in France since 2002, through the use of an application that allows EDS to be the discovery service and front-end of choice. This level of integration improves the search capabilities of Koha, and offers libraries a comprehensive solution for their digital libraries.
Paul Poulain, BibLibre’s founder, says: “In the last few months EBSCO really invested in Koha’s ecosystem. They have funded many developments for the interoperability between our two systems. Through this partnership it was then natural to bring more integrated services to libraries in France and Europe.”
About EBSCO:
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) is the leading discovery service provider for libraries worldwide with more than 8,000 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 and 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 700,000 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.
About BibLibre:
Well known for its business around the Open Source software Koha, both in university and public reading libraries, BibLibre now devotes a significant portion of its energy to promote other Open Source software, such as: Bokeh, a library portal; Coral an electronic resources management system; Piwik for statistics; and Omeka for managing digital resources.
BibLibre also offers a complete range of services customized to help better control software library management, allowing more time for customers to focus efforts on their core business. BibLibre manages hosting, supports migration, staff training, and the maintenance and development of the software it distributes.
For more information about BibLibre: www.biblibre.com.
