About Us

The Mission

The Open Library Foundation was created in 2016 as an unbiased, independent not-for-profit organization to ensure the availability, accessibility and sustainability of open source and open access projects for and by libraries. The Foundation seeks to enable and support collaboration among librarians, technologists, designers, service providers and vendors to share expertise and resources and to create innovative new software and resources that support libraries. We believe that open discourse in a diverse and inclusive community will better identify and characterize challenges and opportunities, and enable paradigm-shifting solutions.

Software developed by communities hosted by the Foundation is freely available under common open source licenses for personal, institutional or commercial use. The software is open and free in order to sustain an open collaboration of interested parties. The Foundation provides infrastructure by which the library community at large can organize, contribute to, and benefit from our projects — ensuring availability and a “safe haven” for our communities’ output that is separated from the needs and goals of any single contributor, user or affiliated party.

Bylaws

Our bylaws are the regulatory rules of the Foundation that were established by the board of directors. They serve as the Foundation’s operating manual, providing a framework for its operation and management.

Read bylaws