Driving Change through Documentation: Developing FOLIO Training Materials to Enable Open Source Infrastructure Adoption in Libraries Worldwide

Jamie Wittenberg

Funding Area: Capacity building / Construcción de capacidad

Problem Statement: The FOLIO (Future of Libraries is Open) project is a collaborative effort between libraries, technology service providers, and developers to create an open source, community-developed, next generation integrated library system that is robust enough to meet the needs of large research libraries and sustainable enough to reduce barriers to access for under resourced institutions. Due to increasing adoption of FOLIO by North American research libraries and the unique needs of this subset of FOLIO users, a sub-community called the Academic Research Library Exchange on FOLIO (ARLEF) was formed in 2021. Because FOLIO is an open source and community developed platform, increasing the quantity and diversity of users benefits the long-term sustainability and success of the solution. In light of this, the ARLEF charter has stated objectives to a) attract additional large research libraries to FOLIO and support them before, during and after their entree to the community and b) build partnerships with FOLIO libraries and library consortia outside North America. One of the biggest challenges that libraries interested in implementing FOLIO (and other community-driven initiatives) face is the lack of documentation and training materials that libraries expect from a proprietary, vendor-provided solution. In order to make FOLIO more globally accessible and improve adoption in LMIE countries and their associated libraries, the community must improve its documentation and training materials.

Proposed Activities: In December of 2022, ARLEF members jointly contributed funds to extend the contract of the FOLIO project’s technical documentation staff member. This surfaced a critical need to develop openly available training materials and documentation developed for libraries implementing FOLIO to better support organizations who wish to adopt open source technologies in the United States and elsewhere. Currently, there is no centralized hub for training materials and no systematic approach to developing and disseminating training. Cornell University has done an excellent job of documenting their processes for FOLIO, but these materials are designed for internal use, though they have been made openly available. The FOLIO project itself has some training materials but their focus is primarily technical documentation. This project will incentivize academic librarians and library staff to develop training materials based on their own experiences migrating to, administering, and working in the FOLIO platform. These training materials will be targeted, asynchronous, open access modules that provide in-depth instruction related to the use of the FOLIO platform. Instructors will be recruited to develop training dedicated to the primary library management functions that are accessible in FOLIO. Development of training materials will require instructors and reviewers. Instructors will be the primary curriculum designers and instructors for the training materials. They will write training documentation, deliver content in their proposed asynchronous format, and ensure that established learning outcomes are met. In December 2023, ARLEF will recruit participants. Potential instructors will submit an application for review by the ARLEF Steering Committee in January 2024. Applications will be reviewed based on proposed learning outcomes, experience developing instructional materials and familiarity with the FOLIO app their content will address. Instructors will receive a stipend of $2,200 USD. In April 2024, Instructors and Reviewers will be selected and content will be developed. Reviewers will be assigned to a FOLIO app matching their area of expertise. Reviewers will be responsible for consulting with instructors to test and evaluate all instructional content and ensure that established learning outcomes are met. Reviewers will provide instructors with detailed feedback throughout the development process with an eye towards usability and accessibility of the content. Reviewers will receive a stipend of $1,100 USD. Participants will have one year to develop content and make it available, and are expected to maintain content for an additional two years. All training materials will be made available on the FOLIO Project’s Wiki (https://wiki.folio.org/) to facilitate discovery and access among new FOLIO users.

Openness: The FOLIO infrastructure is completely open source and the FOLIO community is open to all, regardless of ability to contribute. As stated on the FOLIO website (https://www.folio.org/about/), the FOLIO project aims to facilitate a sustainable, community-driven collaboration around the creation of a modern technology ecosystem that empowers libraries through open source applications to manage library resources and expand library value. FOLIO is hosted by the Open Library Foundation, an independent not-for-profit organization designed to ensure the availability, accessibility and sustainability of open source and open access projects for and by libraries. All training materials will follow best practices for accessibility and be made available on the FOLIO Project’s Wiki to facilitate discovery and access among new FOLIO users. Training materials will be made publicly available in the CU Scholar institutional repository maintained by the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries. Content in CU Scholar is discoverable via the repository’s web-based interface, indexing in search engines, and aggregators. Training materials made publicly available in the CU Scholar institutional repository will be labeled with an appropriate Creative Commons license describing reuse terms. Citations (including DOIs) will be provided to ensure proper acknowledgment when training materials are used.

Challenges: There are two primary challenges associated with this initiative. First, the rapid and ongoing development of FOLIO means that it is a possibility that training materials will quickly become obsolete. To remediate this, instructors and reviewers will pledge to keep documentation up to date for one year following release of their training materials. Staggering the training modules in year one and year two will also help to address this concern. Furthermore, participants will be asked to develop training materials in such a way that they are modular and easily modified to account for changes in the platform. Second, recruitment may be challenging as there are a limited number of experts in FOLIO. Part of the impetus for involving ARLEF in this project is to establish a high-yielding pool of potential trainers. The ARLEF steering group includes: University of Alabama; Auburn University; California Institute of Technology; University of Chicago; University of Colorado Boulder; Cornell University; Duke University; The Five College Consortium; Michigan State University; Stanford University; Texas A&M University

Neglectedness: To date, no funding has been applied for or secured for training projects related to FOLIO. Because FOLIO technology is still emerging, there has not been as much demand for robust training and documentation materials. As adoption increases and the user community expands, this has become a pressing need.

Success: The proposed project’s success will be measured by the development and delivery of open source training materials for institutions interested in or adopting FOLIO. Users of the module will be asked to provide comments in the Wiki to register use, provide feedback, and offer suggestions.

Total Budget: 21,780

Affiliations: Yes, the FOLIO project and the ARLEF Steering Group, which includes: University of Alabama; Auburn University; California Institute of Technology; University of Chicago; University of Colorado Boulder; Cornell University; Duke University; The Five College Consortium; Michigan State University; Stanford University; Texas A&M University

LMIE Carveout: To date, no libraries in LMIE countries have adopted FOLIO, so it is not widely adopted. However, ARLEF and the FOLIO project are interested in extending the reach of the already international project. Representatives from some LMIE countries have expressed interest in attending and presenting at the annual FOLIO conference, WOLFcon. This year, there is a presenter from Nigeria scheduled to discuss integrated library system adoption among Nigerian libraries (https://sched.co/1Oldv). Additionally, there is a presentation from a software company about improving support for Arabic language in the FOLIO platform (https://sched.co/1OlcN)

Team Skills: The ARLEF Steering Committee has a comprehensive understanding of open-source solutions, particularly FOLIO, and the challenges faced by academic libraries in adopting such platforms. The committee members have direct experience in implementing and administering FOLIO in academic libraries. This lived experience enables them to understand gaps in documentation and recruit instructors that address real-world scenarios and user needs. Furthermore, it allows them to understand barriers and opportunities in fostering global participation and increasing diversity in the FOLIO community.

How Did You Hear About This Call: Word of mouth (e.g. conversations and emails from IOI staff, friends, colleagues, etc.) / Boca a boca (por ejemplo, conversaciones y correos electrónicos del personal del IOI, amigos, colegas, etc.)

Submission Number: 65