Consortial FOLIO Shared ILS Pilot

Background

The Alliance implemented Ex Libris Alma/Primo beginning in July 2013, and entered into subsequent 5-year contract renewals starting in July 2018 and July 2023. Following the 2023 renewal, the Alliance began to explore alternative, open source ILS platforms, along with discovery and resources sharing platforms, that are in use by U.S. regional consortia comparable to the Alliance. The outcome of this work was a determination that FOLIO is maturing towards an externally-hosted solution that may be a suitable alternative for the Alliance.


Given members’ substantial investment in the SILS program, the Alliance has a responsibility to conclusively determine whether or not FOLIO offers a viable alternative to the current Ex Libris platform, in terms of cost, functionality, and development priorities. To reach this determination, the Alliance intends to engage in more direct, formal information gathering and experimentation with potential FOLIO hosting partners. The goals of this investigation are to more fully understand the extent to which hosted FOLIO (and complementary discovery and resource sharing platforms) will meet the Alliance’s SILS needs.

This work will consist of two primary phases:

  • Development, issuance, and evaluation of an RFP to host a FOLIO pilot (ideally ending in selection of a pilot hosting provider)
  • Pilot implementation and testing of a non-production FOLIO SILS environment (with approximately 4-6 Alliance member libraries)

Scope of RFP Phase

A SILS Pilot RFP Group will develop, issue, and evaluate responses to, a Request for Proposal for an external provider to implement and support a non-production consortial FOLIO pilot. In addition to pilot proposals, responding providers will be required to provide a preliminary cost estimate for the implementation and ongoing hosting/support of an Alliance-wide adoption of FOLIO as the Alliance SILS platform. At the conclusion of the evaluation process, the group will recommend to the Alliance Board a provider (if any) to move forward with in implementing a FOLIO pilot.

RFP Timeline

  • January-February 2026: Group recruitment and organization
  • March-May 2026: RFP development / Pilot institution initial expressions of interest
  • June-July 2026: Board and Council RFP review and endorsement
  • August-September 2026: RFP release and response period
  • September-mid October 2026: RFP response review
  • October 2026: Responding provider presentations
  • November 2026: Group recommendation to Board; presentation at Alliance Council
  • December 2026: Contract negotiation and award with selected provider / Pilot institutions finalized

RFP Documents

Title Format
Request for Proposal: Consortial FOLIO Shared ILS PilotPDF
Request for Proposal: Consortial FOLIO Shared ILS PilotDOCX

RFP Submission Deadlines

September 10, 2026, 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time: Declaration of Intent to Bid due

September 22, 2026, 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time: Proposal due

Scope of Pilot Phase

The pilot phase will be coordinated by a SILS Pilot Steering Group, which will begin its work immediately following successful selection and contracting of a FOLIO hosting provider. The group will define the terms upon which FOLIO will be evaluated, provide oversight for the pilot implementation, and perform the final evaluation of FOLIO (and complementary discovery and resource sharing platforms). As the final stage of its work, the group will deliver a report and recommendations to the Alliance Board that addresses whether FOLIO can be considered a viable option for the Alliance SILS.

Pilot Timeline

The first phases of work for pilot implementation will begin in January/February 2027, and the complete pilot project will take no less than 18 months (including initial data migration and configuration and following period of testing/evaluation), and likely up to 24 months.

  • November-December 2026: Group recruitment and organization
  • January-March 2027: Development of SILS requirements against which FOLIO will be evaluated
  • January-June 2027: Implementation/migration planning and preparation
  • July-October 2027: Testing core SILS functionality
  • November 2027-January 2028: Testing resource sharing / DCB functionality
  • February-April 2028: Testing discovery functionality
  • May-June 2028: Final evaluation and development of recommendation to Alliance Board
  • July 2028: Board and Council review of recommendation