University Library puts new FOLIO open source library system into live operation
In the presence of several members of University Library staff and users, FAU President Prof. Hornegger successfully carried out the first loans with the new system at the Main Library shortly after 8 am. Also in attendance were guests from the Erlangen Regional Computing Center (RRZE) as well as Robert Scheuerl as deputy department head of the Head Office of the Bavarian Library Network (BVB) and head of Application Support at the office. All guests then celebrated the successful start of FOLIO.
Now all the restrictions that were in place during the last few weeks because of the switch to the new software have been lifted. The University Library returned to normal operations with all the usual services as well as a few improvements on August 4, 2026.
The idea behind open source
“FOLIO” (an acronym for “The Future of Libraries is Open”) is a modern open source platform that handles all central library processes including loans, acquisitions, interlibrary loans, statistics and meta data management. Open source software enables greater independence compared with commercial providers, more influence with software development as well as control over the operation of the software and over one’s data. And, last but not least, there are no license fees. The increased use of open source is one of the mainstays of the Open Science Policy of FAU – the University Library’s involvement is therefore only logical, as Prof. Hornegger emphasized in his speech.
Collaborative development
The detailed preparations for the changeover took many months and included two test migrations. Library staff familiarized themselves with the new system during a number of internal training courses.
The University Library is now the fourth university library in Bavaria to change to FOLIO. Our staff not only provide support for the Bavarian migration project, but are also involved in German-speaking specialist groups and councils of the international FOLIO community.
The University Library is thus one of a number of a growing community of institutions that are placing their trust in open standards and jointly-developed software solutions in libraries.