History
Initial Launch
Led by the Urban Libraries Council, the Edge Initiative was developed by a national coalition of leading library and local government organizations and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Since 2011, the Edge Coalition has worked hand-in-hand to create this professional tool and ensure its value for all libraries and communities.
The Edge Coalition includes:
- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- The American Library Association
- Public Library Association
- Information School at the University of Washington
- California State Library
- Oklahoma Department of Libraries
- Texas State Library and Archives
- TechSoup Global
- WebJunctionLyrasis
- The Information Policy & Access Center
- ICMA
Edge 1.0
Launched publicly in 2014, the first generation of Edge focused on public access technology and the activities carried out by the library that support community priorities related to public access technology. Over 2,700 libraries across the U.S. and Canada used Edge 1.0 to better align their resources and activities to community technology priorities. The Edge 1.0 platform is no longer available as of Dec. 31, 2019.
Edge 2.0
In 2018, the Urban Libraries Council completely revised Edge to give libraries the means to better serve their communities in the face of technology’s evolving impacts on society.
Launched in March 2019, Edge 2.0 extends the technology access focus of Edge to incorporate a broader assessment of the library’s efforts related to digital inclusion and a greater focus on outcomes. In addition to revised benchmarks, Edge 2.0 introduced an all-new online platform for subscribers, as well as new toolkits, resources and learning opportunities.