Top 10: ILS software

2023. Soutron ILS gets Auto Catalogue Import module



In a delightfully updated turn of events, Soutron Library Management System 4.1.9 has fluttered into existence, dazzling its users with an assortment of enhancements, glittering features, security fortifications, and other bits intended to improve just about everything. Now, whether you’re searching from a desktop the size of a small moon or a pocket device that occasionally pretends to be a phone, the multi-device-friendly Search Portal templates will faithfully keep up with your whims. Librarians and the like will find their bibliographic record importing transported to the new admin application, which now handily includes features like automatic copy creation and an import history for those who prefer not to repeat themselves. Meanwhile, a shiny new Orders Tab has been discreetly positioned within the catalogue edit screen, giving users a nifty peek at current and past orders for any given title. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any more accommodating, users can now set the default search results template based on whatever slab of tech they’re using, rendering search results refreshingly clear for desktops, mobiles, or tablets alike. Oh, and for the visually inclined, Google Drive integration now allows image collections to lounge elegantly within Soutron’s records, with the Media Player plug-in in the Search Portal making sure they look splendid.


2023. Bibliovation 7.2 gets online payment options



LibLime introduces the latest version of its ILS software Bibliovation 7.2. It is entirely web-based, granting researchers, library staff and system administrators access through web browsers. By leveraging the FedRAMP authorized IaaS and PaaS certification from Amazon AWS Cloud, along with a special security authorization from the US Department of Defense's cybersecurity experts for SaaS, Bibliovation provides libraries with a highly secure and cost-effective hosting solution. It supports various standards such as MARC21, Dublin Core, RDA and geotagging, enabling libraries to manage both physical and digital content on a single Rest API-based platform. The Bibliovation circulation subsystem is purpose-built to facilitate shared union catalog solutions, granting individual consortium members significant autonomy, including ownership of local bibliographic records, item records and patron records. Bibliovation MARC cataloging allows for local control over cataloging rules that can complement or surpass AACR2 and RDA rulesets. The acquisitions subsystem in Bibliovation is EDI-compliant, featuring a multi-tiered fund hierarchy and supporting the import of csv data converted into the MARC21 format for streamlined acquisition workflows. Additionally, Bibliovation now includes online payment options and comprehensive NCIP support. With hosted production, reporting and test systems, libraries have the necessary capabilities and control to effectively support their daily operations.

2022. Follett School Solutions to acquire ILS software Accessit



In a move that could only be described as the sort of thing a particularly ambitious hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional entity might dream up over tea, Follett School Solutions, the unflappable titan of K-12 educational technology, has rather delightfully declared its acquisition of Access-It Software Ltd (Accessit), a plucky yet undeniably distinguished global provider of library management systems that’s been charming over 4,000 institutions across a baffling 45 countries. The union, a positively galactic convergence of Follett Destiny Library Manager—North America’s indisputable librarian darling—and Accessit Library, the international virtuoso of the field, heralds a new era of library automation where books and bytes shall cavort harmoniously. Together, these two titans will offer school libraries a dazzlingly comprehensive toolkit, replete with futuristic features capable of tackling the many, many complications of modern education, leaving librarians worldwide wondering, "Why didn’t someone do this sooner?”


2022. Koha adds Electronic resource management



The new version of open-source library management software Koha has added Electronic resource management (ERM) module. This new module adds a mechanism to track the selection, acquisition, licensing, access, maintenance, usage, evaluation, retention and de-selection of a library’s electronic information resources. These resources include, but are not limited to, electronic journals, electronic books, streaming media, databases, datasets, CD-ROMs and computer software. Also the new version adds option to require 2FA setup on first staff login, allows storing item values as a template for creating new items, adds ability to create bundles of items for circulation, adds the ability to create ‘saved searches’ for use as filters when searching the catalog.


2022. Koha enables two-factor authentication



The latest incarnation of the ILS system, Koha 22.05, saunters onto the stage with an optional dabble in two-factor authentication (2FA)—because, let’s face it, passwords alone are about as secure as hiding your library key under the doormat. This avant-garde security flourish involves time-based, one-time passwords (TOTP), which sound impressive and, to be fair, rather are. Librarians are invited to partake in the ritual by downloading an authenticator app—Google Authenticator, andOTP, or any suitably clever app that won’t lose your codes in a cosmic accident. With a quick detour to More > Manage Two-Factor Authentication, you can unlock the mysteries of 2FA by: 1) Pointing your phone at a QR code with all the earnest intent of someone trying to capture a rare Pokémon, and 2) typing in the cryptic one-time code that materializes. Thereafter, each login becomes an adventure as the system politely demands the magic authenticator code in addition to your usual credentials. Pro tip: Opt for apps with backup features—because when the universe sneezes, you’ll want your 2FA accounts firmly tethered in the cloud or somewhere equally non-ephemeral.