Duluth, Ga., February 6, 2020: Upon the completion of the first application cycle of the Equinox Open Source Grant, Equinox Open Library Initiative is honored to announce the first two grantees: Biblioteca Nacional de Puerto Rico, a division of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Spark Central in Spokane, Washington.
The Equinox Open Source Grant program provides hosting and support of Koha, the first open source Integrated Library System to be used worldwide. The grant was inspired by the vibrant open source community and the belief that every community deserves to benefit from an accessible and thriving library.
“We are excited to give back to the library and open source communities of which we are honored to be a part,” said Mike Rylander, executive director and founder of Equinox. “It has long been our vision to enable sustainability in libraries through the independence and constancy an open source solution can provide. We are thrilled to collaborate with the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña and Spark Central.”
The Biblioteca Nacional de Puerto Rico was created in 1967, a division of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. In 2003 it became the National Library to preserve and provide access to resources about and related to Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans. Spark Central was founded when Spark Center and INK Art Center joined forces and became one organization in 2016. Their mission is to break down barriers to creativity like cost, confidence, and access.
Over the next three years of the grant cycle the program will provide Koha hosting, training, and access to basic Equinox support. Applicants will be eligible for renewal at the end of the grant cycle. Applications for the 2020 grant cycle will open in the Fall of 2020. Follow Equinox Open Library Initiative on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for the latest updates.
About Equinox Open Library Initiative
Equinox Open Library Initiative Inc. is a 501(c)3 company engaging in literary, charitable, and educational endeavors serving cultural and knowledge institutions. As the successor to Equinox Software, Inc., the Initiative carries forward a decade of service and experience with Evergreen and other open source library software. At Equinox OLI we help you empower your library with open source technologies. To learn more, please visit https://www.equinoxinitiative.org/.
About Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña
The General Library of Puerto Rico was created in 1967 and was assigned to the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (ICP), the States Arts Agency of Puerto Rico by Dr. Ricardo Alegría. In 2003 it became the National Library with the aim to preserve and provide access to the rich, unique and significant bibliographic productions about and related to Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans. The National Library’s mission is centered in the acquisition, preservation and dissemination of publications developed in the country or abroad, by Puerto Ricans or foreign authors on Puerto Rican subjects. To learn more visit https://www.icp.pr.gov/.
About Spark Central
Spark Central is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that ignites the creativity, innovation, and imagination necessary for people to forge the path to their best future. We break down barriers to creativity like cost, confidence, and access by offering transformative programs, access to innovative technology, and a welcoming creative community for people of all economic backgrounds. Everyone deserves the opportunity to forge the future they imagine. As a 501(c)3 charitable organization, we rely on the generosity of people like you to keep our membership and programs available at no cost so income is never a barrier to opportunity. Find out more at spark-central.org.
About Koha
Created in 1999 by Katipo Communications for the Horowhenua Library Trust in New Zealand, Koha is the first open source Integrated Library System to be used worldwide. The software is a full-featured ILS with a dual-database design (search engine and RDBMS) built to be compliant with library standards. Koha’s OPAC, staff, and self-checkout interfaces are all web applications. Distributed under the General Public License (GPL), libraries are free to use and install Koha themselves or to purchase support and development services. For more information on Koha, please visit https://koha-community.org.