Kuali Announces Release of Kuali OLE 0.3

November 16, 2011

(Bloomington, IN)  The Kuali Foundation is pleased to announce the release of Kuali OLE 0.3; a milestone in open-source software development that addresses the functional needs of higher education research libraries for managing information resources.  Kuali Open Library Environment (OLE) is a robust, enterprise-wide, easy-to-use system for selecting, acquiring and describing library information resources, which will link with enterprise business processes and value-added external resources.

Kuali OLE 0.3 release is a stepping-stone towards the full-product that is on track for 2013 implementation. As well as select and acquire functions with auditing trails for all purchases, the 0.3 step release highlights three potentially transformational developments:

·         Kuali OLE 0.3 provides a flexible document store as a primary storage component for all library managed resources with faceted searching of all owned content

·         Kuali OLE 0.3 enables locally configurable workflows for library supply chain automation and management

·         Kuali OLE 0.3 provides a framework for potential enterprise integration utilizing Kuali Rice enterprise middleware.

This release also gives potential users access to a cloud-based test-drive installation and driver’s manual for understanding and demonstrating the new software. See Test Drive

“This release is a key piece of the puzzle that is building the foundation for a holistic approach to library information system management that meets the functional needs of research libraries,” says Deborah Jakubs, Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University Librarian and Vice Provost for Library Affairs at Duke University and Kuali OLE Project Board Co-Chair.  “I am very pleased with the deep collaborative efforts demonstrated by the hundreds of librarians and staff who have contributed to the Kuali OLE project. They are working in conjunction with the other Kuali software projects to provide solutions for higher education that reach well beyond libraries."

Kuali OLE Release 0.3 is the result of collaboration of multiple higher education research libraries and commercial affiliates including Indiana University, Duke University, Lehigh University, North Carolina State University, University of Chicago, University of Florida, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, and HTC Global Services, Inc. Kuali OLE release 0.3 has received generous support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

All software and materials delivered by the Kuali Foundation are available under the Educational Community License and can be adopted by colleges and universities without licensing fees.

The Kuali OLE Project Team is currently focusing its efforts on its Year Two roadmap OLE Timeline for extending the functionality of Kuali OLE.  Release 0.6 (March 2012) will focus on Deliver and Manage User Relationships and Manage Entity Relationships, which will provide for circulation functionality and local contextual information for management of library information resources.

These first two releases are the initial components of a larger project to build an enterprise-wide library management system.

"We are pleased to see the Kuali OLE project's successful delivery of release 0.3” Jennifer Foutty, Executive Director of the Kuali Foundation, stated. “This is the start of a major effort to deliver full library information system management functionality and will complement other projects that are delivering major components of a full set of enterprise systems, including Kuali Financial System, Kuali Student, Kuali Coeus for Research Administration, and Kuali People Management for the Enterprise."

For more information on Kuali OLE 0.3, or to download version 0.3, go to Kuali OLE http://www.kuali.org/ole, or take a "test drive" at Test Drive Kuali OLE Test Drive.

About Kuali

The Kuali Foundation is a non-profit organization that coordinates the efforts of colleges and universities to develop and sustain administrative software to meet the needs of all sizes of higher education institutions, from small colleges to large research universities. The Kuali Foundation began in 2004 as a cooperative effort among partners and a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to develop an open-source financial system. Success with the Kuali Financial System led to additional pooled investment projects, including Kuali Coeus for Research Administration, Kuali Student, Kuali Rice, Kuali Open Library Environment, Kuali People Management for the Enterprise, Kuali Mobility Enterprise and Kuali Ready, with coordination by the independent, not-for-profit Kuali Foundation, Inc. The software developed by Kuali projects is available, without fee, for anyone to use or modify under the Educational Community License. See Kuali for more information.

 

Kuali Foundation Contact: Jennifer Foutty, jfoutty@kuali.org, 812-345-3948

Kuali OLE Contact: Brad Skiles, bradskil@indiana.edu, 812-855-0853