Library Technologies

A virtual water cooler for church library folks to chat about new and existing technologies that can help manage and grow our libraries.

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Marty Woodall December 26, 2025 19:58

I want to invite all librarians to attend the Central Alabama Library Conference on March 7, 2026
check out the EVENTS page for full conference information
Bev League August 7, 2025 10:53

You are Invited: "Check Out" the details about a Library Training Event in the Nashville area on September 13, 2025. Details on the Events Tab.
Sandy Blakney April 3, 2024 7:15

Hi Ann,
I really like the way you integrated the Tiny Cat into the library page on your church’s website! It does address the concerns I raised.
Thank you. This is very helpful. I feel confident our committee will be able to make a decision soon.
Sandy
Paul T. Jackson April 1, 2024 17:19

There are quite a few software programs available for libraries. Unfortunately, each one has excellent things, but always lack something. I've used Readerware because it allows one to grab cataloging from other online databases. The issue is that sometimes you will get the update, new edition, instead of the one in the library, and their "auto update" changes all items in the catalog with new dates; if any. The version I used 10 years ago, did not have a label printing program, so we developed our own software for that. I recall that it had a great search module for printing up list of books for different subjects. There are many new updates to this software so I would certainly take a look at it. https://www.readerware.com/index.php/products/new-version

Readerware Products - What's New in Version 4

Internet software for collectors, schools, libraries, churches. The easiest, fastest way to catalog your books, music and videos. Nothing else comes…
- Sandy Blakney > Paul T. Jackson April 1, 2024 19:59
  
  Thank you Paul. I am almost ready to compare the systems that have been shared as well as the systems that the CLN website lists. The comments have been very helpful.
  Sandy
Sandy Blakney March 30, 2024 9:50

Hi Bette,
Thanks for sharing your experience withOPAL. The look of your site is more in line with what would work for us. We are also a Creative Space for writers and we are planning on having lots of events. I noticed there is a tab for events. Open source is also good.
Thanks again and Happy Easter!
Sandy
Bette Hess March 30, 2024 8:48

Sandy, We have been using OPALS for almost 10 years and find it very user friendly. You can edit your home page as you wish. It is setup to allow you to import MARC records from Library of Congress or a number of other resources. You can create special displays for occasions/events. Patron checkout is available (we do not use it because our library is open/not secure). It is "Open Source" so available to use free. Our church chose to pay a fee each year and OPALS then hosts our library on their server so we are accessible from home, online from anywhere. They also provide zoom sessions to help you when needed. Here is my churche to preview. https://fpcp.scoolaid.net/bin/home#0 and OPALS https://opalsinfo.net/special-libraries/ Best of luck,
Bette Hess

FPCP :: Calvin LibraryFirst Presbyterian Church of Portland
Sandy Blakney March 28, 2024 14:06

Hello!
My name is Sandy and I am charged with the task of building out a library in our church. We have two rooms which will house YA/Adult books. We are currently furnishing. We don’t have a budget but can probably get $500 for a software program to manage our library. We would like to have a self checkout system if possible. Any suggestions? I have looked at Handy Library, TinyCat, and Surpass. I am a volunteer with no real library experience save for work study in college over 40 years ago!
- Ann Johnson > Sandy Blakney April 2, 2024 9:56
  
  Hi Paul and Sandy - I work in 2 church libraries that use LibraryThing and TinyCat (for 11 and 3 years). There are compromises that come with it's affordability but we liked it. Related to Paul's original post, we discovered that if you choose an Amazon cover for a book when you enter it into LibraryThing/TinyCat, anytime a new edition of that book is released on Amazon, the cover shown for your book will change. This is a problem when you are looking for a book in your library based on it's cover! So, we get around that by trying always choose covers from somewhere besides Amazon. If nothing besides Amazon is available, I will scan the cover myself and attach that to our book Somehow, over the years, some of the covers I've scanned for LibraryThing/TinyCat seem to have disappeared but we haven't researched that.
- Sandy Blakney > Ann Johnson April 2, 2024 10:21
  
  Ann this is helpful to know how to work around potential problems. LibraryThing/TinyCat was the first system I looked at. I am using it for my collection of books at home. I really do appreciate all of the feedback I am getting. I am so glad I joined CLN!