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The library technology industry showed its maturity in 2024. Businesses have become increasingly stable and robust products delivered rich functionality. But decades of consolidation have created a narrower slate of competitors, resulting in a smaller number of products available for each type and size of library. The marketplace is seeing more specialized solutions but fewer options. Companies continue to tailor products to the diverging service needs and collections of public, academic, school, and special libraries. Library services platforms (LSPs) designed for academic libraries, for example, are not well suited for public libraries. This stratification further narrows customers' choices. The expectation is that a handful of established players will continue to drive sales and development of library management systems. But we can also expect an uptick in migrations, as many libraries continue to operate legacy systems that will soon need to be replaced. Outdated functionality and security concerns are driving these migrations, as libraries seek to shore up vulnerabilities in a climate of mounting cyberattacks.
Companies see platform upgrades, new leadership, and Al enhancements
The library technology industry showed its maturity in 2024. Businesses have become increasingly stable and robust products delivered rich functionality. But decades of consolidation have created a narrower slate of competitors, resulting in a smaller number of products available for each type and size of library. The marketplace is seeing more specialized solutions but fewer options.
Companies continue to tailor products to the diverging service needs and collections of public, academic, school, and special libraries. Library services platforms (LSPs) designed for academic libraries, for example, are not well suited for public libraries. This stratification further narrows customers' choices.
The expectation is that a handful of established players will continue to drive sales and development of library management systems. But we can also expect an uptick in migrations, as many libraries continue to operate legacy systems that will soon need to be replaced. Outdated functionality and security concerns are driving these migrations, as libraries seek to shore up vulnerabilities in a climate of mounting cyberattacks.
While the main players haven't changed, there is increasing demand for these big companies to develop additional layers of technology that efficiently address collection discovery, resource sharing, digital preservation and management, and community engagement. Companies must meet libraries" growing expectations that technologies go beyond core systems.
Businesses with consistent ownership can better focus on long-term strategies. Private equity involvement in the library technology industry continues to diminish as more companies fall under permanent financial stewardship. Ex Libris, Innovative, and ProQuest each exited cyclical investment ownership in recent years when they became part of Clarivate, a public company since 2019. EBSCO has a long history as a familyowned business that embraces a buyand-hold strategy for its acquisitions. Constellation Software, the epitome of a buy-and-hold-forever strategy, acquired SirsiDynix in 2024. OCLC and Equinox Open Library Initiative, both nonprofit organizations, cannot be sold.
That said, expect at least a few mergers and acquisitions over the next year or so. Smaller, founder-owned businesses or those still within the portfolios of private equity investors may seek new arrangements. It's more likely, however, that mid-sized and larger companies will take an interest in startups from outside the library world to fill service gaps or enhance their product suites with artificial intelligence (АГ) or analytics.
MAJOR BUSINESS EVENTO
There were a few shifts in the industry last year, thanks to business transitions and leadership changes.
SirsiDynix became part of Harris Computer, owned by Constellation Software. OCLC bought CloudLibrary, an ebook and digital lending service, from Bibliotheca. Private equity group Blackstone acquired Civica, while Soutron Global acquired MINISIS, a company specializing in library, archive, and museum management solutions.
New CEOs lead Axiell, Clarivate, and EBSCO Information Services. These transitions aren't seismic but should lead to sustained stability in the library technology sector.
INDUSTRY GIANTS AMONG US
CLARIVATE is a large public company with three major business units and a broad spectrum of products. The products and services of the ProQuest, Innovative, and Ex Libris brands-along with other scholarly communications offerings-are part of the Clarivate Academia and Government unit. This report focuses solely on Clarivate's library products.
In August 2024, Clarivate announced it would appoint Matti Shem Tov to succeed CEO Jonathan Gear, who had held the role since July 2022. Shem Tov led Ex Libris as president and CEO beginning in 2003 and was named CEO of ProQuest in 2017; he exited the company when it became part of Clarivate but now returns. Bar Veinstein, who served as Ex Libris president from 2017 to 2021, rejoined the company as president of Academia and Government in April 2023. Having these familiar figures at the helm of the biggest library tech company will have a significant impact on the industry.
Although the brands and product lines of Ex Libris and Innovative persist within Clarivate, they are being increasingly merged and coordinated under the Academia and Government division. Ex Libris' portfolio is geared toward academic and national libraries, while Innovative's integrated library systems (ILSes) Sierra and Polaris and patronoriented product suite Vega address the interests of public libraries. Sierra, used by both major public and academic libraries, remains fully and indefinitely supported. Yariv Kursh, senior vice president of Clarivate, serves as the general manager responsible for these library products. For 2024, Ex Libris reported 887 employees and Innovative reported 321 employees.
EX LIBRIS continues to attract new implementations for Alma, its flagship LSP that launched in 2012. Last year, the platform saw 99 contracts representing 147 libraries, bringing total implementations up to 2,745 libraries.
The British Library (BL) in London- which, at more than 170 million items, is considered one of the two largest library collections in the world- selected Alma last year. The LSP replaces its Aleph ILS (a legacy product that Ex Libris supports but does not make new sales for), which had been in place since 2003. The selection of Alma marks an important step in BL's recovery from a devastating ransomware attack in October 2023.
Other national libraries that contracted with Alma and Primo last year include Croatia's National and University Library in Zagreb, which will support a network of 82 libraries across the country, and the National Library of Spain, headquartered in Madrid. Over the years, 44 national or state libraries have selected Alma. The platform recently rolled out an improved user interface for staff.
Last year, 28 libraries signed for Leganto, a course content management system that is now in use at 372 institutions. A new feature, the student savings dashboard, highlights the dollar value of using library-provided class materials through Leganto instead of purchasing them.
Rapido and RapidILL provide resource sharing capabilities for libraries and consortia. New organizations implementing Rapido include the National Library of Australia in Canberra and a consortium of academic libraries in the Catalonia region of Spain. More than 1,000 libraries use Rapido or RapidILL.
In 2024, Ex Libris announced several plans for new or enhanced products that integrate generative Al. The organization introduced Alma Specto, a product for managing, describing, preserving, and accessing digital collections that uses Al to extract and organize metadata from materials. Ex Libris is partnering with seven libraries to develop this product, which is expected to be released to customers by the end of 2025.
On the discovery side, Ex Libris released the Primo Research Assistant in beta. It uses retrieval-augmented generation, an Al model that can provide reliable search results by combining knowledge bases (in this case, the Ex Libris Central Discovery Index) with the capabilities of large language models.
The company is also developing Library Open Workflows, a tool that customers can use to integrate non- Ex Libris external systems and interfaces into its platform. This approach doesn't rely on coding but uses a visual dragand-drop interface to create automated workflows and centralize operations.
INNOVATIVE, Clarivate's other flagship library brand, continues to gain ground with Polaris. The ILS saw 86 contracts signed in 2024, bringing total installations up to 704 libraries. DC Public Library and Jacksonville (Fla.) Public Library are among the large-scale systems choosing Polaris. Abroad, the platform was selected by Shellharbour City Libraries in Australia and Catalonia's Department of Education, for its network of 2,245 school libraries.
Innovative continues to develop and support the Sierra ILS. Version 6.3, released in 2024, includes native SMS integration. The brand is also seeing success With its Vega suite of patronfacing services. Last year, 62 libraries signed contracts for Vega Discover, bringing total implementations to 152. Additionally, 26 libraries selected Vega Program for events management, and five libraries selected Vega WebBuilder, a tool for managing library websites.
EBSCO INFORMATION SERVICES is a large private company owned primarily by the family of its founder, Elton B. Stephens. As the largest business within EBSCO Industries, a diversified holding company, EBSCO Information Services emphasizes reliable content resources and open and interoperable technology.
In a major leadership change, the EBSCO Industries board appointed Annie Callanan as CEO of EBSCO Information Services following the June 2024 retirement of Tim Collins, who had served in the role for four decades. Prior to joining EBSCO, Callanan was CEO of Taylor & Francis (2017-2023) and CEO of Quantros (2014-2017), a health care software company. It's too early to tell what this change means for the company, but Callanan's background in publishing and technology seems suited to EBSCO's core business activities.
In recent years, EBSCO's library technology offerings have increasingly focused on open source, open infrastructure, and interoperability. The company has become a major competitor to Clarivate's Alma through its participation and investment in FOLIO, an open source LSP. More than 200 libraries have implemented EBSCO FOLIO, a product that combines open source FOLIO modules with the company's proprietary suite of software and content components. EBSCO signed 159 agreements for EBSCO FOLIO in 2024. Major institutions choosing EBSCO FOLIO include Columbia University in New York City, Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, and Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. Meanwhile, implementation of an EBSCO-supported FOLIO for the Library of Congress is underway. EBSCO has also supported-in partnership with UK-based software company Knowledge Integration-the development of OpenRS (Open Resource Sharing Coalition), which was rolled out to the MOBIUS Consortium in June 2024.
EBSCO Discovery Service, now used by more than 16,000 libraries, received major enhancements last year, including aredesigned interface that has been deployed to about 85% of its subscribers. EBSCO also upgraded Explora, a search interface for its databases that launched in 2015 and is oriented to public and school libraries. The updated Explora provides a more visual search experience through curated topic pages and other features.
In October 2024, EBSCO launched Mosaic by GOBI Library Solutions, a new product that modernizes the selection and acquisition of library materials. GOB, a critical acquisitions tool for thousands of libraries, will continue to be supported and developed in parallel.
Given its emphasis on trustworthy content, EBSCO has taken a somewhat cautious approach to incorporating generative AI. In June 2024, the company launched two beta programs for customers using EBSCO Discovery Service and EBSCOhost: Natural Language Search and Al Insights, a feature that generates high-level summaries from full-text articles. Initially released to a limited number of libraries, these features have received positive feedback and are expected to be available for general use later this year.
OCLC is a large nonprofit company based in Dublin, Ohio, that employs 1,334 people. The company is a membership organization governed by a board of trustees and advised by a leaders council. Its executive team is led by Skip Prichard, Who was appointed CEO in July 2013.
OCLC engages in educational and advocacy activities on behalf of its members and the global library community, and the tech-oriented products and services covered in this report represent only a small dimension of the company's offerings. OCLC's revenue for the fiscal year ending June 2024 totaled more than $238 million.
Last year, OCLC entered the ebook lending arena when it acquired CloudLibrary from Bibliotheca for $25.5 million. At the time of sale, about 500 libraries were subscribed to CloudLibrary. The ebook platform was originally launched by 3M Library Systems in 2011 and later became part of Bibliotheca when 3M was acquired by One Equity Partners in 2015. OCLC enters an ebook market dominated by OverDrive, which has more than 92,000 library and school subscribers in 115 countries. Other initiatives offering e-lending services to libraries include the Palace Project from Lyrasis and New York Public Library's SimplyE ebook and audiobook platform.
In June 2024, OCLC acquired JJH Consulting, a small firm known for aiding higher education institutions in optimizing their enterprise resource planning systems (such as through the Workday platform). The firm was purchased from founder and owner John Hrusovsky for $1.8 million and subsequently relaunched as Synexis Consulting with Hrusovsky as managing director.
WorldCat, the global bibliographic database at the core of OCLC's services and products, grew by more than 52 million records and fielded more than 33 billion searches in 2024. OCLC has prioritized improving the quality of the database and last year leveraged its workforce and processes to improve 121 million records-in addition to the 2.3 million records enhanced by libraries. WorldCat Discovery, a product that enables users to access library resources spanning many formats, significantly increased the content in its indexes and saw a 14% increase in searches.
Last year, the organization launched OCLC Resource Sharing for Groups, a service that expedites interlibrary loans and prioritizes requests for members within a consortium. The Big Ten Academic Alliance put this service into operation in June 2024.
OCLC's WorldShare Management Services LSP, used mostly by academic libraries, continued to expand its reach in 2024, signing 64 contracts for 83 library locations. Total installations stand at 782 libraries. Notable systems selecting the LSP include the WISPALS Library Consortium in Wisconsin, the libraries of the Fundación Universitaria San Pablo (part of the CEU Universities in Spain), and Heidelberg University Library in Germany. Recent enhancements include a refreshed user interface for staff, new capabilities for managing licensed electronic resources, and expanded APIs for acquisition features.
Wise, OCLCss strategic product for public libraries, combines patron engagement capabilities with traditional library management features. The platform has long been in use by a majority of public libraries in the Netherlands; a 2024 contract with the country's unified library system now expands its reach. The system covers 102 libraries serving a population of 14.4 million.
Choreo Insights, an analytics solution that OCLC rolled out in 2024, provides cross-institutional collection analysis. The service, which had 50 commitments in 2023 prior to launch, signed 23 new subscribers last year, increasing total subscribers to 65 libraries.
OCLC uses Al across many of its products, in experimental and beta as well as production-ready features. For example, the company leverages Al for its worldcat.org book recommendations and to improve the efficiency of its resource sharing networks. Last year, OCLC used machine learning technology to identify 5.4 million duplicate records in WorldCat in English and other European languages. A more ambitious project to detect duplicates in non-Latin script languages is now underway.
CONSTELLATION'S GROWING PRESENCE
SIRSIDYNIX entered a new phase in its business history in December 2024, when it was officially sold to Harris Computer, an operating company of Constellation Software. After being held by Vista Equity Partners (2006- 2014) and ICV Partners (2014-2024), SirsiDynix exits private equity ownership, which has tended to focus on shorter-term profitability and valuations at the expense of investments in long-term product development.
SirsiDynix will operate as an independent company-maintaining its existing management team, workforce, product lines, and support structures- while benefiting from Harris Computer's financial stability, best practices, and access to development capital. SirsiDynix marks the operating company's second investment in the library technology industry. (In 2018, Harris Computer acquired ResourceMate, an automation system for smaller libraries, from Jaywil Software Development.)
The sluggish development pattern of private equity-held businesses was evident in the rollout of BLUEcloud, a suite of web-based applications envisioned to modernize Symphony and Horizon ILS products. SirsiDynix initially announced BLUEcloud in 2013 but still has not completed the suite to the extent that it could replace Horizon's and Symphony's native interfaces.
In 2024, SirsiDynix announced thatits BLUEcloud Accelerate initiative would dedicate significant resources toward the rapid completion of the suite and that development of BLUEcloud applications would continue under new ownership. The company recently went live with its redesigned mobile app, BLUEcloud Mobile2, a project necessitated by a high-profile business dispute with the development partner ofits original app.
SirsiDynix ranks as the largest standalone company entirely dedicated to library technology products. In 2024, the business reported 2,104 installations of Symphony and 645 installations of Horizon, as well as ongoing sales of BLUEcloud components to new and existing customers. SirsiDynix also offers the CloudSource line of discovery products, which specializes in promoting open access scholarly resources and is used by more than 500 libraries. Last year, SirsiDynix announced the release of CloudSource +, an extension of the CloudSource OA platform.
Constellation Software, a publicly traded company based in Toronto, is involved in software and services across many verticals, with total annual revenues exceeding $8 billion. Through acquisitions made by its operating companies, it has gradually become one of the largest owners of library automation businesses.
In addition to SirsiDynix, Constellation owns the library tech companies Baratz, Bibli°Commons, EnvisionWare, Prima Informática, ResourceMate, and Softlink-most of which are managed by the operating company Volaris Group. Constellation buys companies from founders, private equity firms, and other investors, and these businesses then operate independently. Constellation has acquired more than 500 entities since 1995, almost exclusively within the technology sector. (Former owner ICV Partners, by contrast, held no tech companies other than SirsiDynix.)
SOFTLINK, headquartered in Australia and acquired by Volaris Group in 2013, offers technology products for multiple library types. The company's Softlink Education division offers Oliver, an ILS used by school libraries globally. The company's Softlink Information Centers division offers illumin, a tool for managing institutional knowledge bases for reference and research, and the Liberty library management system, used by law, corporate, government, and other special libraries. Softlink recently launched Liberty Digital, a management system for materials such as digital archives, multimedia content, and ebooks. This new product includes Al-enhanced features for search and streamlining operations.
In September 2024, Softlink acquired Aurora Information Technology, a vendor popular among public libraries in Australia. About 50 municipal and regional systems-including the City of Sydney Library -use its Aurora library management system. This acquisition strengthens Softlink's position in the Australian public library sector.
SOLUCOES SOPHIA, previously known as Prima, is based in Sáo Paulo, Brazil. The company was acquired by Volaris Group in 2018. Its major products include the SophiA ILS for public libraries and the Philos ILS for school libraries. These platforms are mostly used in Brazil but also see sales in other Portuguese- and Spanishspeaking countries. In 2024, five contracts were signed for SophiA, bringing implementations up to 2,469 libraries. Philos saw 811 installations at school libraries, with 16 contracts signed.
BIBLIOCOMMONS became part of Volaris Group in March 2020, when cofounders Beth Jefferson and Patrick Kennedy were looking to exit and sell the business. The company does not offer its own library management system but rather specializes in publicfacing software that helps patrons access collections and services.
The Bibli°Core discovery service replaces the native catalog of a library's ILS with a contemporary interface. The service has been implemented by more than 550 libraries, spanning approximately 2,300 locations. Bibli°Core supports all major ILS products, including CARL Solution, Evergreen, Horizon, Polaris, Sierra, and Symphony.
Last year, Bibli°Commons unveiled the Bibli°Commons Analytics Platform, a tool that can measure user actions beyond the standard data. Another new capability, Browse and Discover, allows patrons to explore the catalog for items of interest through customizable interfaces. This feature is modeled after user experiences typically offered by streaming services and e-commerce sites. Bibi°Commons also developed additional capabilities for consortia, such as enabling participating libraries to feature local items in results.
In 2024, new sales of Bibli°Core were made to public libraries, including Sonoma County (Calif.) Library, which serves half a million people. Five library systems implemented BiblioWeb, an application for building websites with customizable widgets.
BARATZ, a Madrid-based company offering the Absys family of library automation products, was acquired by Constellation Software operating company Total Specific Solutions in 2021. The AbsysNet ILS is favored by largescale consortia and regional networks of public and government libraries in Spain, as well as other Spanish-speaking areas.
Last year, AbsysNet saw 12 contracts representing more than 1,000 library locations, increasing total installations to 2,681. Baratz signed another 34 contracts for its AbsysCloud ILS, bringing total installations up to 393. AbsysCloud, though based on AbsysNet, includes new content services, collaboration tools, and patron engagement features. Baratz also offers the ODA discovery interface, introduced in 2023, as its new-gen catalog and discovery service. ODA is in use at three libraries.
In February 2024, Total Specific Solutions acquired DIGIBÍS, also based in Madrid, and integrated the business into Baratz. DIGIBIS specializes in software solutions for digital materials and digitization and is used by libraries, archives, and museums. Last year, the Museo del Prado in Madrid launched a new digital library comprising 1.7 million web pages and 11,500 publications through DIGIBIS.
COMPANIES THAT SPECIALIZE
SOUTRON GLOBAL, a mid-sized company based in San Diego, offers technology products for special libraries. In 2024, Soutron acquired MINISIS, a well-established provider of resource management products for libraries, museums, and archives. The sale was supported by Soutron's principal investors, Bloom Equity Partners and Atlasview Equity Partners.
MINISIS was founded by Christopher Burcsik in 2000. The original MINISIS tools were developed in the 1970s by the International Development Research Centre, part of the Canadian government, which Burcsik's company took private. MINISIS Cultural Asset Management System (CAMS), a collection management tool for libraries, museums, and archives, has been installed at 55 organizations as of 2024. CAMS is a fully web-based application and the forward migration path for MINISIS customers using previous versions of the product.
Last year, the Soutron ILS saw 18 new sales, bringing total installations to 357. Recent upgrades to the platform include more flexible record structures and a new administrative console for system configuration. The Soutron API was also enhanced for additional functionality.
TIND, a small firm of 18 employees, was formed in 2013 as a spin-off of CERN, the nuclear research center in Geneva, Switzerland. The company offers commercial products based on open source software originally developed at CERN.
With six new contracts in 2024, TIND ILS is currently installed at 21 libraries. The Center for Research Libraries recently migrated to the ILS from FOLIO. The digital archive product TIND DA saw 11 sales last year, including to San Francisco Public Library, increasing total installations to 31.
In 2024, two new libraries selected research data management platform TIND RDM, bringing total installations up to nine institutions. University of Georgia in Athens selected both TIND RDM and TIND IR, an tional product. KEYSTONE
SYSTEMS, founded in 1995, fills an important niche by providing systems and services for organizations that serve people with visual disabilities. Many state libraries in the US have divisions that use Keystone Library Automation System (KLAS) to manage collections and fulfillment requests of accessible materials. The company employs 14 people and is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Its KLAS ILS is installed at 119 institutions, including two that signed contracts in 2024. THE
OPEN SOURCE SCENE BYWATER
SOLUTIONS continues its expansion as a provider of services for open source software, including the Koha ILS and discovery interface Aspen Discovery. The company, founded in 2009, now employs about 50 people. Most of ByWater's customers are public libraries, with some academic, school, and special libraries in the mix. Aspen
Discovery was developed primarily for public libraries and is interoperable with all major ILS products, including Koha and Evergreen and proprietary ones like Polaris, Sierra, and Symphony. A large portion of public libraries that implement Koha also opt for Aspen. Last
year, ByWater Solutions added 37 contracts for Koha, increasing total installations to 1,653 library locations. The company now supports 767 installations of Aspen Discovery, including 32 new contracts spanning 75 library locations. In addition, 18 libraries use the company's Metabase analytics portal, including eight new customers. In
2024, ByWater Solutions contracted with SHARE, a resource sharing environment for the members of the Illinois Heartland Library System, to implement, support, and host Aspen Discovery. With 262 members representing 480 library locations, the system is the largest consortium in North America. ByWater
Solutions is also a shareholder in PTFS Europe, the largest provider of open source support for library software in Europe. This arrangement began in October 2023, following the retirement of two of PTFS Europe's principals. GROVE,
a new firm that develops and supports Aspen Discovery, was established in July 2024. The company is headed by Aspen creator Mark Noble along with Jordan Fields, both of whom departed ByWater Solutions last year. EQUINOX
OPEN LIBRARY INITIATIVE, a nonprofit organization providing support services for the Evergreen ILS and other open source products, offers many educational opportunities for libraries interested in moving away from proprietary software. The company currently employs 17 people. Equinox is one of the major developers of Evergreen and recently added new capabilities to the platform, such as multifactor authentication for the staff interface, accessibility upgrades for the patron catalog, and new RESTful API endpoints. The company also provides services for other open source products, including Aspen Discovery, Fulfillment, Koha, and VuFind. In
2024, Equinox signed five contracts representing 65 library locations for Evergreen, increasing installations to 895. Additionally, three contracts were signed for Koha (bringing total installations to 41) and two contracts spanning 51 library locations were signed for Aspen Discovery (increasing installations to 234). The
Missouri Evergreen consortium, which already contracts with Equinox for Evergreen, will be supported by the company on Aspen Discovery starting this year. Equinox has also led development on Fulfillment, an open source resource sharing system based on the same technology as Evergreen. In 2024, Fulfillment was implemented for a statewide service in Connecticut. A
FOCUS ON PUBLIC LIBRARIES THE
LIBRARY CORPORATION (TLC) has passed an impressive impressive milestone: 50 years in business. The company was cofounded in 1974 by Annette Harwood Murphy, the current president and CEO, and has thrived by adapting to changes in technologies and focusing on the interests of its customers. TLC is privately owned and independent from private equity or other investors. The company has 126 employees, a significant increase from the 103 employees reported for 2023. The company has expanded, in part, through the acquisitions of the CARL Corporation in 2000 and Tech Logic in 2005.
TLC continues to enhance its Library · Solution and CARL Solution ILS products with modernized interfaces and features. In 2021, the company launched its mobile app, TLC ·Go!, to support both Library · Solution and CARL Solution customers. The app is now used by 14 libraries and was recently enhanced to allow for seamless integration with streaming content platform Hoopla.
In 2024, the company signed 12 contracts for Library · Solution-including eight for school districts, representing 303 school libraries -bringing total installations to 474 libraries. These figures encompass a version of Library · Solution for school libraries, branded as Library · Solution for Schools. Public libraries implementing Library · Solution include Ackley (Iowa) Public Library and Chattahoochee Valley Libraries in Georgia.
CARL Solution, an ILS used mostly by larger public libraries and consortia, saw no new sales in 2024 but holds steady at 18 installations.
In May 2024, TLC announced that its cataloging utility, ITS · MARC, had grown to more than 84 million bibliographic records. The 20 libraries that participate in adding records to this service contributed 7.6 million records toward that figure.
AUTO-GRAPHICS has seen many different cycles of technology since its founding in 1950, from hot-metal typesetting to early databases and CD-ROM catalogs to web-based platforms. The company, though relatively small at 30 employees, is publicly traded. Paul R. Cope currently serves as president.
Auto-Graphics reported no new sales for its VERSO ILS, currently installed at 545 library locations, or for its SHAREit interlibrary loan platform, used by more than a dozen statewide interlibrary loan services. Enhancements made to VERSO in 2024 include improved cataloging workflows, upgrades to SMS circulation notices, and a new catalog function based on the 739.50 protocol that improves search capabilities and integrates with the CILL module and SHAREit.
BIBLIONIX, based in Austin, Texas, specializes in web-based products for smaller libraries. Its Apollo ILS fills an important niche for libraries that serve smaller populations and find largerscale products unaffordable or too complex for their needs. In 2024, 40 public libraries selected Apollo, increasing total installations to 990. Improvements recently deployed in Apollo include a new scheduling function for rooms and events and a filter on catalog searches that allows users to exclude or include only children's materials.
Through the company's FlexShare program, libraries using Apollo can allow neighboring libraries" patrons to search and check out materials. The company reports that 479 of its Apollo customers offer some type of expanded catalog that provides access to at least one other library.
Last year, Biblionix made six new sales for Artemis, an ILS for school libraries that launched in 2022. This increases total installations for Artemis to 15.
MARING WAVES ABROAD
AXIELL, based in Lund, Sweden, offers several library management systems that are used throughout Europe. These products have only a small presence in the US. The company saw two key leadership changes in 2024: Maria Wasing assumed the role of president and CEO of Axiell on January 1, and Sebastian Svärdebrandt, who has a background in cloud services and cybersecurity, was appointed chief information officer in June.
The momentum continues for Quria, the company's LSP for public libraries that launched in 2017. Last year, Axiell made 109 sales for Quria, increasing total installations to 276. New clients include the 12 municipalities of Sweden's Kalmar County and German cities Monchengladbach and Gelsenkirchen.
Quria is part of Axiell's broader Library Experience Management ecosystem, providing a comprehensive solution for libraries through its interoperable components. This framework includes a new module called Quria Case Management, which facilitates secure and GDPR-compliant communications between libraries and their users for queries and requests.
V-smart, the library management system that Axiell acquired from Infor in 2022, was selected to support a network that includes the National Library of Greece and other academic libraries. Also in 2024, the Axiell Spark library management system (previously known by the name OpenGalaxy) was selected by UK's LibrariesWest consortium, which includes seven municipal library services representing more than 140 locations.
Axiell is currently developing a new Al tool for curators and collection managers that can analyze and enrich metadata and thesaurus records. The tool is expected to be 10 times faster than manual processing methods.
SYSTEMATIC, founded in 1985 and based in Aarhus, Denmark, catapulted into the library tech arena when it launched the Joint Library System, now branded as Cicero, to support all 2,428 public and school libraries in Denmark. The company is primarily involved in the health and defense sectors, with a global workforce of 1,100 employees; its Systematic Library and Learning division employs 74 people.
Systematic has continued to develop and market Cicero to libraries outside of Denmark. Libraries selecting Cicero in 2024 include Stockholm Public Library in Sweden and Biicherhallen Hamburg in Germany, each with 32 public library locations. Last year, 17 smaller municipalities in Norway selected Cicero.
KOMBIT, the organization that manages IT projects for Denmark's municipalities, announced in early 2025 that Systematic's contract to develop and implement the next version of the Joint Library System for the Denmark library system had been renewed until 2038. The project is valued at more than $30 million.
CIVICA is an information technology company specializing in software for public sector organizations. As of May 2024, Civica is owned by Blackstone, a large-scale investment firm with more than $1 trillion in assets under management.
Spydus is Civica's ILS for public libraries. Its latest version, Spydus 11, is a fully web-based platform hosted on Microsoft Azure. In 2024, the company released a patron-facing mobile app for Spydus that includes catalog search, account management features, and notifications. The Spydus ILS has a strong presence in Asia, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the UK. Last year, Civica made 43 sales of Spydus, including 10 new contracts, increasing total installations to 875. Civica has begun an initiative to market Spydus to public libraries in North America.
NASEEJ, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is known for its technology products for libraries, colleges and universities, and other cultural institutions throughout the Middle East. Historically, the company has distributed content products and library management systems from global providers, such as EBSCO Information Services, Innovative, ProQuest, and SirsiDynix. Since 2021, Naseej has focused on the development of the MEDAD LSP, which integrates open source products such as FOLIO and Drupal.
MEDAD, a comprehensive solution hosted and fully supported by Naseej, does not require technical expertise to implement. The company offers three options that can be used separately or as a suite: the MEDAD Library Management LSP; MEDAD Library Portal, a website management tool; and MEDAD Digital Repository. More than 70 organizations have installed one or more MEDAD components to date.
SERVING SMALLER LIBRARIES
BOOK SYSTEMS, based in Huntsville, Alabama, was founded in 1989 by Bill Jones and his son, Mark. Today, the company is privately owned by Scott Burton and employs 56 people. Book Systems is a pioneer in the library technology industry, with an established track record of developing and supporting products that smaller libraries can afford.
The company's Atriuum ILS has been implemented primarily in school, smaller public, and academic libraries, as well as libraries in churches and prisons. In recent years, a growing number of libraries using Concourse, the company's legacy system, have opted to migrate to Atriuum. In 2024, 147 libraries selected Atriuum, increasing total installations to 5,087. Of these, 3,465 are school libraries and 1,036 are small public libraries.
Book Systems recently launched Atriuum Gallery, a catalog interface that emphasizes a visual and streamlined user experience. The company also reported that Stax, a new mobile app for library staff to optimize circulation operations, will integrate with point-ofsale platform Square.
LIBRARYWORLD was founded in 1985 under the name CASPR by current CEO Norman Kline. The business offers a fully web-based and affordable ILS in its core product, LibraryWorld, which has been installed at 2,700 libraries.
The LibraryWorld platform includes the standard modules of an ILS but is optimized for the needs of smaller libraries. Last year, the company made enhancements to the interface, giving users the ability to browse fields with an alphabetical list or search terms. LibraryWorld's other ILS product, WikiLibrary, launched in 2021 as a lower-cost option. It is now installed at 122 library locations.
In 2025, LibraryWorld plans to release its new Kids Catalog, an interface with playful graphics designed to help young patrons browse topics.
MANDARIN LIBRARY AUTOMATION, based in Boca Raton, Florida, offers the Mandarin M5 ILS used by smaller libraries of all types. In 2024, the company reported one new sale for Mandarin M5 and 698 total installations.
The company offers upgrades to libraries using its legacy products, Oasis and Mandarin M3, at a minimal cost. Last year, M5's public catalog was updated with a mobile-responsive web interface.
MEDIA FLEX provides comprehensive services for OPALS, a web-based ILS for schools and other small libraries. The company, based in Champlain, New York, was founded in 1985.
OPALS has been implemented by more than 1,000 libraries. Although OPALS is based on open source software, Media Flex provides libraries with a fully hosted product that requires no local technical expertise.
LOOKING AHEAD
AI, especially generative Al, increasingly pervades education, publishing, health care, and social media. Expect the library technology industry's development and integration of this technology to come at full speed.
Libraries will have to carefully parse which technologies can amplify their work and which may do harm. They are already working closely with vendors to ensure that products and services with Al features deliver appropriate results. Having the ability to automatically generate descriptive metadata at a speed and scale not previously imagined is an attractive prospect, but these tools must be accurate.
For more than a decade, libraries have looked to linked data to connect to the broader information ecosystem. Now, this solution may pale in comparison to the changes and opportunities driven by Al. Going forward, organizations with the technical prowess to deliver functional AI tools may gain a competitive advantage in the library technology industry. Expect companies to increasingly invest in building or buying components and services to power the next iterations of their interfaces and management systems.
That said, not all libraries and patrons are drawn to environments where Al shapes the delivery of information. Some may prefer the more straightforward approach of traditional platforms.
But consider that, at least for the short term, the political climate and other societal forces are impacting library funding and often imposing changes in collections and services. Technologies that can help library professionals perform their work with fewer resources may be more welcomed than ever.
Copyright American Library Association 2025