Duluth, Ga., March 30, 2021: Equinox Open Library Initiative is pleased to announce the award of an Equinox Community Grant to the CORAL ERM Steering Committee. The Equinox Community Grant provides funding for open source projects and operational infrastructure in order to strengthen and support open source communities in libraries, archives, and cultural heritage organizations.

"CORAL, a powerful open source electronic resource management tool, is built for the community and by the community," said Xiaoyan Song, Chair of the CORAL ERM Steering Committee, and Electronic Resources Librarian at North Carolina State University. "It relies on globally distributed volunteer teams including developers and librarians willing to take responsibility for its sustainability."

CORAL ERM is used by libraries and institutions worldwide. The CORAL project is led by the CORAL Steering Committee and the software is developed and maintained by community contributions to the project. The Equinox Community Grant supports the communication needs of the CORAL project by funding the hosting and domain fees for the CORAL website for a period of ten years. The grant allows the CORAL Steering Committee to maintain their current website, share information about CORAL ERM, and to connect with present and future CORAL community members.

"Libraries need software for managing electronic resources, and this software needs to be reliable, affordable, and efficient. Many libraries maintain ERM data manually in spreadsheets because a dedicated system is beyond the budget," said Lisa Carlucci, Executive Director, Equinox Open Library Initiative. "CORAL provides an innovative, user-friendly solution, along with an active community of peers who understand the work of electronic resources management. We're proud to be a part of the CORAL community and to support libraries interested in using CORAL."

Equinox Open Library Initiative developed this new grant opportunity following the success of the Equinox Open Source Grant, which provides implementation, hosting, training, and support for libraries interested in using Koha ILS. In 2020, Equinox funded the implementation of Koha ILS for Biblioteca Nacional de Puerto Rico and Spark Central, in Spokane, WA. In 2021, the Equinox Open Source grant will fund Koha ILS for The Vermont Jazz Center and the Center for Khmer Studies.

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