Alliant Unifies Campus Libraries with EBSCO FOLIO to Modernize Operations

Alliant moves to a single library platform to modernize student and staff experience

Alliant International University has chosen EBSCO FOLIO as the new backbone for its library systems across multiple California campuses, with the migration set to begin in December 2025. The university says the change is intended to replace older, fragmented tools with a single, modern platform that promises smoother staff workflows, better resource discovery for students and stronger interoperability between systems.

How Alliant’s multi-campus setup pushed change

Alliant runs several campuses around California, and like many small-to-medium universities it has built library services piece by piece over time. That has left staff juggling different software for managing ebooks, journals, course readings and student searches. Administrators described the result as uneven discovery for users, duplicated work for librarians, and limits on how quickly the library could try new services.

Those pain points are familiar in higher education: separate systems can slow down buying, make it harder to report usage across campuses, and require extra training for staff who float between locations. Alliant’s announcement framed the move to a single platform as a way to streamline daily tasks and free librarians to focus on user-facing work rather than system maintenance.

What FOLIO is and why Alliant picked it

FOLIO is an open, modular library services platform that several academic libraries use as an alternative to older, all-in-one vendors. It is designed to let institutions mix and match modules for acquisitions, cataloging, discovery (search), and analytics, rather than be locked into a single stack. EBSCO serves as a provider and integrator for FOLIO, offering hosting, support and package modules that work with the system.

In its announcement, Alliant highlighted the features it expects to use: interoperable modules that can talk to campus systems, a modern discovery layer to help students find materials, centralized resource and license management, and improved reporting so librarians can see what’s actually being used. The university stressed the appeal of a flexible, open architecture that can adapt as needs change.

For day-to-day operations, the promises are straightforward: fewer duplicate entries, a single search experience for students across campuses, and dashboards that show spending and usage in one place. Those gains are meant to reduce time spent on routine tasks and make decisions about collections easier.

Phased rollout, integrations and what to expect in the coming year

Alliant outlined a phased migration starting in December 2025. The plan calls for an initial pilot on one or two campuses to validate integrations, followed by staged migrations of the remaining sites. The university said technical work will include connecting FOLIO to the student information system, linking existing e-resource providers, and mapping legacy catalog records into the new platform.

Training and support are part of the package: EBSCO will provide configuration help and staff training sessions, and Alliant will run local workshops for librarians and administrative users. The announcement listed measurable rollout goals such as consolidated discovery for students and a reduction in duplicated cataloging tasks, though it did not publish exact target dates beyond the pilot start.

Quotes from the announcement and where to find more detail

In the university’s statement, Alliant’s library leadership said the move was about service and sustainability: “We are adopting a platform that will let our librarians spend more time helping students and less time wrestling with systems,” the announcement quoted. An EBSCO spokesperson added: “Our FOLIO solution is built to help multi-campus institutions like Alliant simplify operations and improve access to resources.”

The press notice included these remarks but offered limited technical detail on data migration and specific campus timelines. Reporters seeking further comment or deeper technical specifics were directed to the university’s communications office and EBSCO’s customer relations team in the announcement.

Why this matters beyond Alliant

Alliant’s move is part of a broader trend where smaller university libraries look for more flexible, interoperable systems rather than sticking with legacy vendors. Institutions with multiple campuses often find the economics and work savings of a single platform attractive. For library technology vendors, the trend puts a premium on modular systems and strong integration services.

For students and faculty at Alliant, the practical outcome should be a simpler, more consistent way to find readings and resources. For librarians, the change aims to cut repetitive work and improve reporting across campuses. The choice also signals that even modest-sized schools are ready to invest in modern library infrastructure to improve day-to-day services.

Photo: Ludovic Delot / Pexels

Sources

• prnewswire.com