What INFOhio does

INFOhio, established in 1989 and operated by The Management Council (MCOE), is Ohio's official K-12 digital library, providing free digital educational resources to all Ohio public K-12 schools, educators, students, parents, and librarians. Its core platform comprises ISearch (a unified cross-resource discovery search aggregating INFOhio digital resources and school library catalogs with filters for date, Lexile, subject, and format), Fetch (a basic library catalog search for INFOhio-automated schools), Open Space (an open educational resource platform linking to over 40,000 learning materials), IWonder (a student inquiry and digital reading resource), and the INFOhio Digital Video Collection (streaming and downloadable video content). Supporting infrastructure includes the INFOhio Library Services Platform for library automation, INFOhio Learning Pathways for educator professional development, and embeddable World Book and EBSCO search widgets for educator websites.

The organization is funded through Ohio state appropriations and supplemented by a dedicated Future Forward Ohio grant supporting Open Space. All resources are provided at no cost to Ohio residents; publisher licensing agreements explicitly restrict access to non-Ohio users, who are redirected to analogous programs in their own states. Go-to-market operates through statewide district licensing, school library system integration, and professional development channels including the INFOhio Campus learning platform, ICoach peer-coaching program, and IPartner agency partnerships, with marketing via the Teach With INFOhio Blog and social media. Recent AI-adjacent offerings include educator courses and toolkits on AI tools, generative AI, and Microsoft Copilot integration, alongside new product refreshes (World Book Kids redesign, IWonder updates) and Summer 2026 platform retirements signaling portfolio consolidation.

INFOhio is a private non-profit headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, with approximately 20 employees. The customer base spans every Ohio K-12 district, making the end-user reach broad but the funding base concentrated in a single state appropriation channel. No venture capital, private equity, or public-market ownership applies; the organization is structurally insulated from churn at the user level but exposed to state budget cycles.

Name

INFOhio

Legal name

INFOhio

Website

https://infohio.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

INFOhio is Ohio's state-funded K-12 digital library, operated by The Management Council, providing free digital research resources, an open educational resource platform with 40,000+ materials, library automation tools, and professional development to Ohio students, educators, librarians, and families.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. State Government Funding: INFOhio is a state-funded program providing digital educational resources at no cost to Ohio K-12 schools, educators, parents, and students. The program is funded through Ohio state appropriations and is optimized by the Management Council.
2. Future Forward Ohio Funding: Open Space platform is specifically funded through Future Forward Ohio, indicating grant-based funding for specific platform initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

INFOhio provides a web-based digital library platform delivering curated educational resources, library automation, and professional development services to Ohio's K-12 schools, educators, students, and families at no cost. The platform aggregates premium content from publishers such as World Book and EBSCO, offers 40,000+ open educational resources through Open Space, and integrates with school library systems via ISearch and Fetch tools.

Product overview

INFOhio is Ohio's K-12 Digital Library operated by the Management Council, providing a comprehensive platform of digital educational resources for PreK-12 students, educators, parents, and library staff across Ohio. The core platform centers on ISearch (advanced library catalog and digital resource discovery search) and Fetch (basic library catalog search), supported by Open Space (open educational resource platform with 40,000+ free learning materials), IWonder (student inquiry and reading resource), and the INFOhio Digital Video Collection (educational video streaming). The Library Services Platform enables school library automation, while INFOhio Learning Pathways provides professional development. Additional offerings include World Book encyclopedia products and search box widgets for embedding INFOhio and partner resources on educator websites. The platform is funded through Future Forward Ohio and optimized by the Management Council.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ISearch Advanced library catalog and digital resource discovery search that allows users to search INFOhio digital resources and school library catalogs from a single search box. Includes filters for date, Lexile reading level, subject, and format, with features for placing holds, viewing library accounts, and saving lists of print and digital resources.
• Fetch Basic library catalog search tool available to INFOhio automated schools, featuring a simple interface with reading-level search and visual search capabilities. Searches only the school library catalog, not INFOhio digital resources.
• Open Space Open educational resource platform containing item records with links to over 40,000 learning materials available at no cost to Ohio educators. Includes lesson plans, activities, and learning materials searchable by PreK-12 educators who can create accounts to save and share resources.
• IWonder Student resource platform for inquiry and digital reading covering topics including math, technology, history, world around us, money, words, languages, projects, career exploration, book finding, and creativity. Organized by question categories to support student research and exploration.
• INFOhio Digital Video Collection Digital video collection available at no cost to Ohio educators, parents, and students. Platform-independent allowing download or streaming on any device. Includes curated playlists on Leadership, Creativity, Communication, Media Literacy, Social Emotional Learning, Career Pathways, Literacy Tips, Technology, Economics, and more.
• INFOhio Library Services Platform Library automation platform for Ohio schools enabling school library management including catalog search, circulation, and resource management. Integrated with INFOhio's digital offerings for unified access to physical and digital collections.
• INFOhio Learning Pathways (Campus) Professional development platform offering self-paced online courses, learning pathways, and certifications for educators on using INFOhio resources effectively. Includes AI-focused training and digital literacy instruction courses.
• World Book Products

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Management CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerINFOhio is optimized by the Management Council, an Ohio educational cooperative that provides operational support, infrastructure, and strategic guidance for the INFOhio digital library program serving Ohio K-12 schools.
• Ohio Organizations and Educational AgenciesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOhio organizations and educational agencies can partner with INFOhio to contribute content to Open Space, making learning materials accessible to Ohio educators through the open educational resource platform.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• OpenStax: Leading publisher of free, peer-reviewed OER textbooks for K-12 and higher education. Comparable to INFOhio's OER strategy but focused on textbooks rather than lesson plans, and operates at national scale.

Direct peers

• SC DISCUS: South Carolina's state-funded digital library serving all K-12 schools and residents with electronic resources and research databases. Direct peer in the network of state-funded K-12 digital library consortia.
• BadgerLink: Wisconsin's state-funded K-12 digital library providing free access to licensed databases, e-books, and learning resources for Wisconsin residents. Structurally identical model to INFOhio: state appropriations fund aggregator access for public schools, with licensing restricted to in-state users.
• INSPIRE (Indiana): Indiana's statewide digital library funded through state appropriations, providing free database and resource access to Indiana residents including K-12 schools. Closest analog to INFOhio's statewide licensing-restricted model.
• TeachingBooks: Digital reading and literacy resource platform providing author interviews, book guides, and reading recommendations for K-12. Comparable to IWonder's inquiry and reading focus, and often licensed through state-funded programs similar to INFOhio.
• MackinVIA: K-12 digital content management platform aggregating e-books, audiobooks, databases, and educational videos for school libraries. Directly comparable to INFOhio's ISearch and Digital Video Collection aggregation model.
• OER Commons: Open educational resource discovery platform with a large catalog of teaching materials, lesson plans, and learning objects. Directly comparable to INFOhio's Open Space platform (40,000+ OER) in mission and content aggregation approach, but operates nationally rather than state-restricted.
• Kentucky Virtual Library (KYVL): Kentucky's state-funded digital library providing free access to electronic resources for Kentucky K-12 students, educators, and citizens. Direct functional peer to INFOhio in mission, funding model, and statewide K-12 service scope.

Broad incumbents

• Gale (Cengage): Major provider of educational databases and research resources (Gale In Context, GVRL) frequently licensed through state library programs like INFOhio. Comparable content layer though distributed commercially rather than free-to-state-residents.
• Follett Destiny Library Manager: Market-leading K-12 library automation platform used across U.S. school districts. Competes with INFOhio's Library Services Platform for school library management, but is commercial and operates nationwide while INFOhio is Ohio-only.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/infohio
• Facebookfacebook.com/infohio
• Instagraminstagram.com/infohio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/infohio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about INFOhio