SCELC News

Announcing SCELC FOLIO Cohort 1

FOLIO was “an easy sell to our CFO who has been asking us to find ways to reduce our costs."

Patrick Benner, Library Director of Pacific Union College

SCELC is pleased to announce that an initial group of libraries has committed to SCELC FOLIO and are poised to begin implementation this month.

We are calling this group of four SCELC Member libraries Cohort 1 which is composed of:

• Pacific Union College
• Notre Dame de Namur University
• Menlo College 
• Western University of Health Sciences

These  libraries will work with SCELC's Assistant Director of Library Technology Initiatives, Kate Hill, and an EBSCO implementation team to migrate from their current ILS to SCELC FOLIO, with go-live dates between May 26 and July 1, 2026. Kate Hill joined SCELC from EBSCO where she previously worked on consortial FOLIO implementations. The libraries come from a variety of legacy systems and will each utilize EBSCO Discovery Service as their patron-facing interface. 

We are so thrilled by the interest in SCELC FOLIO. In fact, a second cohort is already in the works and  expected to start implementation in Spring of 2026.

SCELC FOLIO is a multi-year, opt-in initiative that provides SCELC Member libraries with affordable, scalable access to the open-source FOLIO library services platform. Delivered in partnership with EBSCO Information Services, the pilot offers centralized implementation, hosting, and ongoing support. See our SCELC FOLIO service page for more information.

Teri Oaks Gallaway, Executive Director of SCELC, said, “With the initiation of the SCELC FOLIO Program, SCELC is taking another major step toward our strategic goal of enabling libraries to realize cost savings while also leveraging innovative technology in a sustainable manner. We see this partnership as raising the visibility of Member libraries on their campuses as they deliver even greater value to their stakeholders and support the needs of 21st Century researchers.”

Kathy McCarthy, Director of SaaS Innovation at EBSCO Information Services, said this partnership reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to open-source innovation. “Through this collaborative model, EBSCO is helping to bring the openness of FOLIO to libraries that may not have had the resources or infrastructure to pursue it on their own. SCELC’s approach demonstrates how shared services can make open technology achievable, sustainable, and community-driven. We’re excited to see SCELC’s first cohort begin implementation and to support their vision for a shared FOLIO environment.”

SCELC FOLIO will empower Member libraries through shared technology and collective innovation. As Cohort 1 begins its journey, SCELC looks forward to expanding this model to additional institutions, building a future where collaboration, visibility, and shared infrastructure drive sustainable progress for libraries of all sizes.