The library technology industry had a quiet year in 2023. But in the absence of major business moves and acquisitions, companies set their sights on executing strategies to strengthen their market position.
Previous cycles of business consolidation have yielded a layered landscape with distinct levels of competition. At the top, a handful of large organizations with considerable resources—Clarivate, EBSCO Information Services, Follett School Solutions, and OCLC—continue to expand their portfolios, covering multiple business sectors and library types. Middle-tier companies, including Axiell, ByWater Solutions, The Library Corporation (TLC), and SirsiDynix, offer growing suites of products used by thousands of libraries. And finally, a group of smaller companies round out the industry, covering specialized libraries with niche products and services.
Competition at each level remains vigorous. Libraries may have fewer product choices because of past acquisitions, but the options remaining are distinctive. Most libraries can choose between for-profit and nonprofit vendors, and between proprietary and open source products. For instance, academic libraries can pick from a short list of library services platforms (LSPs), including a proprietary solution from a for-profit company (Alma), an open source product supported by for-profit companies (FOLIO), or a proprietary product from a nonprofit organization (WorldShare Management Services).
Libraries see their technology vendors as strategic partners. They are increasingly purchasing core products from a single provider, rewarding companies’ efforts to create suites of integrated applications that function more efficiently than mix-and-match offerings. These days, libraries expect third-party integration from their products—but they generally acquire new components from a single main vendor.
It’s hard to endure in the library technology industry, and it may take a vendor many years to establish a competitive position. Several of the companies covered in this report have persisted for more than three decades. Longstanding vendors have evolved with their library customers, gaining insights from their needs, and leading them through new generations of technology.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of TLC, which delivered information products on CD-ROM before the World Wide Web. The company pioneered many platforms and innovations on the way to its current position as a provider of integrated library system (ILS) products for public and school libraries. Over five decades, TLC has remained privately owned and managed by founder Annette Harwood Murphy.
LibraryWorld launched in 1985, going by the name CASPR and creating library automation software for the Apple Macintosh. The company’s original product, MacCards, produced catalog cards and preceded LibraryWorld’s 1988 release of a Mac-based ILS. The company also developed the Library.Net application, one of the earliest web-based online catalogs and a precursor to the current LibraryWorld ILS.
SirsiDynix is built on several companies from the earlier eras of library computing, including Data Research Associates (founded in 1975), Sirsi Corporation (founded in 1979), and Dynix (founded in 1983).
Going back even further, Auto-Graphics was established in 1950 as a hot-lead typesetting company. It has been managed by three generations of the Cope family and cycled through many publishing and database technologies leading up to its current focus on ILS and resource sharing technologies.
Still, a newer class of startups is making strides in the industry. Since ByWater Solutions was launched in 2009, it has established itself as a mid-sized company, employing 50 individuals and supporting 1,619 total installations of the open source Koha ILS. TIND has seen slower growth since it launched in 2013, with 28 library systems currently using its institutional repository TIND IR and 16 using its TIND ILS.
Systematic is an outlier. Its ILS, now known as Cicero, hit the market only eight years ago and is currently used in 3,047 libraries. Though the product is new, the company isn’t. Founded in 1985, Systematic is a global developer of enterprise software for multiple industries.
Civica announced in November 2023 that it would be acquired by Blackstone from Partners Group, a move that will take effect this year pending regulatory approvals. This takeover shouldn’t change the complexion of the company, of which the Spydus ILS represents only a tiny sector.
In December 2023, Follett School Solutions acquired Livingtree, developers of Livingtree Give, a fundraising platform geared to schools and parent-teacher organizations. Follett has rebranded the product as Destiny Fundraising Manager.
Springshare announced in August 2023 its acquisition of Patron Point, an email marketing and patron engagement platform that has been widely adopted by public libraries in North America. The platform automates and segments messages and delivers circulation notices in a modern presentation. Springshare is led by founder and CEO Slaven Zivkovic. In January, former Patron Point CEO Ian Downie became president of Springshare’s new Public Library Division, which will sell Patron Point and support event management tool LibCal.
Clarivate, a publicly traded company based in the UK, holds a market capitalization of nearly $5 billion. The company spans three business sectors: intellectual property, life sciences and health care, and academia and government. The library products—including those associated with Ex Libris and Innovative—fall within Clarivate Academia and Government, along with the Web of Science research platform, EndNote citation and reference tool, RefWorks reference manager, InCites research evaluation tool, Esploro research management system, and ScholarOne journal workflow management tool.
Clarivate Library Software Group ranks as the largest provider of library technology products to academic and public libraries. Nearly 5,000 library systems use a Clarivate-provided ILS.
In 2023, Clarivate appointed several former Ex Libris executives to strategic positions within the Clarivate Academia and Government division: Bar Veinstein, former president of Ex Libris Group, became president; Oren Beit-Arie, former chief strategy officer for Ex Libris and ProQuest, was appointed senior vice president of strategy and innovation; and Ofer Mosseri, former general manager for Ex Libris, returned as senior vice president of global sales. These appointments could enable the aggressive product development that was characteristic of Ex Libris.
Yariv Kursh serves as general manager for Clarivate Library Software Group, including Ex Libris and Innovative. The brands have been organizationally integrated over the last two years but retain their distinctive products. Overall, Clarivate products hold a strong lead among Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions: In 2023, 88 were using Alma, seven were using Sierra, four were using Voyager, and one was using Aleph. (Comparatively, 12 ARL member institutions have selected FOLIO.)
Ex Libris continues as the major provider of technology products to academic, national, and other large-scale libraries. Its Alma LSP has now been selected by more than 2,500 libraries. Despite recent competition from FOLIO, Alma continues to see strong sales, securing 83 contracts in 2023. These sales include Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, which will be transitioning away from its involvement with FOLIO development; New York University; OhioLINK, a statewide network of 117 academic libraries in Ohio; University of Wyoming in Laramie; and Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Most sites implementing Alma also use Primo as their discovery service, with a small number opting for Summon. Both interfaces rely on the Ex Libris Central Discovery Index, which enables access to scholarly content from almost all publishers and aggregators. Both Primo and Summon are used with Ex Libris’ ILS products, such as Aleph and Voyager, as well as with some from other vendors. Many new and existing Alma customers are implementing Primo VE, a model of Primo deployed directly through Alma rather than a separate staff portal. In 2023, 94 contracts were signed for Primo, bringing total installations to 2,777. Forty-seven contracts were signed for Summon, bringing total installations to 1,680.
Ex Libris’ other products continue to see traction. Leganto, the course list management tool launched in 2015, was purchased by 34 libraries in 2023, bringing implementations up to 360. Rapido, a resource sharing system that works with Alma and other ILS products, was selected by 28 libraries last year, increasing total installations to 277. RapidILL, acquired in 2019 from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, saw the addition of 53 new contracts, mostly from outside the US, to increase its customer base to 648. And CampusM, Ex Libris’ mobile-friendly student engagement platform for academic campuses, gained 22 new institutions last year, increasing its total to 138.
The brand emphasizes the extensibility of its products and multiple channels of collaboration available to its subscribers. To that end, the Ex Libris Developer Network provides a forum and tools that allow customers to work with the APIs of its products, share code that integrates with external systems, and create new components and services.
Clarivate is currently working to develop artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for its discovery and workflow solutions. Ex Libris has announced plans for its Next Discovery Experience, which will incorporate AI technologies, linked data, analytics, and a new user interface.
Innovative, also part of Clarivate, positions the Polaris ILS as its strategic product for public libraries. The brand’s Sierra ILS, still used by many academic libraries, continues to be supported but is not actively marketed for new sales. Last year, Innovative completed versions 6.0 and 6.1 of Sierra, which includes Security Assertion Markup Language and multifactor authentication features. Many libraries using the Sierra ILS are opting to move to the Alma LSP—among them, OhioLINK, Middlebury (Vt.) College, and University of San Diego—reflecting a larger trend of academic libraries moving toward LSPs.
Under Clarivate, Innovative has expanded globally. Prior to 2022, Polaris was marketed exclusively in North America. That year, Newcastle Libraries in Australia selected Polaris, marking the company’s first sale outside the continent. In 2023, the Central Coast Council Library Service, also in New South Wales, became the second Australian library to select Polaris. In a complex implementation, Singapore’s National Library Board implemented Polaris and Vega Discover for its network of 28 libraries, including the flagship National Library of Singapore.
Innovative has strengthened its offerings for public libraries—and its competitive position—through the development of Vega, a suite of customer-facing applications interoperable with Sierra and Polaris. The company is also working to modernize its INN-Reach direct consortial borrowing environment, a longstanding product for resource sharing within and between large consortia.
EBSCO Information Services has, over the past decade, become a major provider of technologies for libraries—in addition to its longstanding role in delivering subscription services, subject databases, and discovery products. The privately owned business is one of the industry’s largest, reporting more than 3,000 employees in 2023. Many of the company’s products and services fall outside of the scope of this report. EBSCO Information Services, the largest subsidiary of EBSCO Industries, has been an exceptionally stable company. It has been led for the past 40 years by CEO Tim Collins, who announced that he will retire June 30.
In 2023, the company launched EBSCOlearning, a new division specializing in training and professional development for the educational and business sector. Michael Laddin will lead EBSCOlearning as senior vice president and general manager.
The company’s bold move to enter the LSP space through development and support of open source product FOLIO is proving to be a successful strategy. But the growing popularity of Ex Libris’ Alma, and therefore Primo and Summon, has cut into sales for EBSCO Discovery Service, one of the company’s most critical products. While investing in FOLIO is a defensive move, it accelerates EBSCO’s position as a strategic library technology provider.
Although FOLIO was already gathering steam as an open source alternative to Alma, the 2022 selection of the platform by the Library of Congress (LC) demonstrates that open source has reached a critical threshold in the LSP arena. This partnership between LC and EBSCO will significantly advance the capabilities, components, and functionality of FOLIO, including a new cataloging editor that will enable native representation of content items in BIBFRAME.
In the absence of major business moves and acquisitions, companies set their sights on executing strategies to strengthen their market position.
EBSCO FOLIO, a tailored product that includes the open source FOLIO LSP, comes with a suite of integrated applications that makes it a comprehensive choice for academic libraries. In addition to core modules and hosting services, EBSCO FOLIO includes proprietary components EBSCO Discovery Service, EBSCO Knowledge Base, EBSCO Electronic Resource Management, and a basic version of the Panorama analytics module, with an option to include the Locate discovery interface and BiblioGraph linked data service. By investing in FOLIO, EBSCO has created a new option in a landscape previously dominated by Clarivate products—primarily Alma.
In April 2023, GALILEO, a statewide consortium of universities in Georgia, announced that it would migrate its members from Alma to EBSCO FOLIO. This marks the second statewide consortium to choose EBSCO FOLIO. (MOBIUS, which includes most academic libraries in Missouri, selected the platform in 2022 to replace Sierra and INN-Reach.)
EBSCO reported 128 contracts for EBSCO FOLIO in 2023, bringing total selections up to 142, with more than 100 in production. This data does not include libraries implementing FOLIO independently or through another support provider. Other major organizations that selected EBSCO FOLIO recently include Notre Dame University–Louaize located abroad in Lebanon (migrating from OCLC’s discontinued OLIB ILS); Nyenrode Business Universiteit in the Netherlands (from the Virtua ILS); Oklahoma State University in Stillwater (from Alma); Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut (from the Sierra ILS); University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand (from the Horizon ILS); and University of New Haven in West Haven, Connecticut (from the Voyager ILS).
EBSCO works with a variety of organizations to market FOLIO. It recently partnered with library software vendor MOL, which will provide hosting and support for EBSCO FOLIO in Poland.
Customers MOBIUS and GALILEO will also implement OpenRS, a new open source resource sharing platform aimed at consortia. EBSCO Information Services will develop this platform in partnership with the UK-based software company Knowledge Integration and library consortia including GALILEO, MOBIUS, Marmot Library Network in Colorado, and the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services. Like FOLIO, OpenRS is an open source project associated with the Open Library Foundation. (More on OpenRS and Project ReShare’s differing approaches to open source resource sharing.)
EBSCO continues to enhance other strategic products, with development of new interfaces for EBSCO Discovery Service and EBSCOhost under way. In May 2023, the company launched EBSCOhost Passport, a browser extension that facilitates access to scholarly resources from general internet searches. EBSCO has also begun developing Mosaic, a new platform to modernize and streamline materials acquisition using the GOBI Library Solutions service.
EBSCO reports it is exploring the use of generative AI in its products through pilot projects in specific environments. The company seeks to balance AI’s new capabilities while maintaining high standards for accuracy.
OCLC, a nonprofit based in Dublin, Ohio, offers a wide range of products and services for libraries globally. The organization competes in multiple product categories while offering other benefits to its customers and the general library community. Many of the company’s activities are beyond the scope of this article.
For the fiscal year ending June 2023, OCLC revenue totaled nearly $225 million, up from $220 million in the previous fiscal year. Following the retirement of Bruce Crocco last June, Eric van Lubeek has been named vice president for global library services. Skip Prichard has served as CEO since 2013.
WorldShare Management Services, an LSP used primarily by academic libraries, gained new subscribers last year, including Lee College in Baytown, Texas; Shorter University in Rome, Georgia; and University of Arkansas–Fort Smith. International libraries also signed for the platform in 2023, including Auckland Institute of Studies in New Zealand; Buckinghamshire New University in the UK; Canberra Institute of Technology and the Parliamentary Library in Australia; and Comfenalco Antioquia in Medellín, Colombia. Last year, WorldShare Management Services rolled out more than 200 enhancements, 70% of which were the result of community input.
Designed for public libraries, OCLC Wise has been selected by most public libraries in the Netherlands, Biblioteka Públiko Boneiru in the Caribbean Netherlands, and the expanding Cultuurconnect network in the Flanders region of Belgium, which completed its implementation in 2023. Despite its success in Europe, no US libraries selected OCLC Wise last year.
Additionally, 88 new institutions implemented OCLC’s CapiraMobile app in 2023. The company’s cataloging and interlibrary loan services continue to be mainstays for the library community.
Last year, OCLC announced an enhancement to global catalog WorldCat that will bring some linked data capabilities to MARC bibliographic records through the systematic addition of uniform resource identifiers to WorldCat Entities. OCLC has improved WorldCat through the enrichment, consolidation, or correction of 63.2 million records. In December 2023, the company launched its Arabic Discovery Catalog, based on 3.8 million resources.
Looking ahead, the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) has partnered with OCLC to advance development of OCLC Resource Sharing for Groups and support BTAA’s UBorrow service. Meanwhile, OCLC is currently testing AI-generated book recommendations in WorldCat, though the feature has not yet been deployed.
SirsiDynix, based in Lehi, Utah, offers a wide range of technology solutions for libraries. Its two ILS products, Symphony and Horizon, are most popular with public libraries. SirsiDynix offers the BLUEcloud suite of web-based applications, which are interoperable with both of its ILSes and provide modern, efficient interfaces.
Both Symphony and Horizon continue to be supported and enhanced, though Symphony is the one positioned for market. Any new sales of Horizon represent libraries joining an existing consortium or network. In 2023, Symphony sold contracts to Gold Coast Libraries in Australia (migrating from Sierra) and former members of the Consortium of Ohio Libraries that switched to the SEO Consortium (migrating from Evergreen).
Last year, SirsiDynix introduced Outsourced System Administration Services, a new support model for select operations related to ILS administration. This premium service enables library workers to offload many routine tasks, such as loading bibliographic records, producing reports, and updating loan rules.
SirsiDynix continues to expand its CloudSource content and discovery services platform and has integrated the CCC Get It Now service that allows patrons to acquire materials not available in their local library’s electronic collections. In 2023, SirsiDynix entered a partnership that will integrate Gale’s complete line of databases into CloudSource, incorporating the metadata of more than 1 billion items.
Work is under way on BLUEcloud Discovery Custom Services, a new product that will provide customizable discovery and a component-based content management system that can be used to run a library’s entire website. SirsiDynix’s next-generation mobile app for Android and iOS, BLUEcloud Mobile2, is expected to go live in the first half of the year.
Axiell, one of the largest companies in the global library technology space, has grown over the last three decades through business acquisitions and organic product development. Based in Lund, Sweden, the company does business throughout Scandinavia and other parts of Europe and offers multiple ILS products. Axiell employs 415 people, an increase of 44 staffers from 2022.
Effective January 1, Maria Wasing was promoted to president and CEO of Axiell Group; Joel Sommerfeldt, former president and CEO, is now chairman of the board. Henrik Béen joined the company last October as chief product officer. In 2023, Axiell agreed to sell its media division—which provides ebooks and other digital content to libraries in Sweden and Finland—to Nordic distributor Publizon.
Axiell’s LSP for public libraries, Quria, saw its first implementation in 2017 and continues to gain customers. Ninety-five libraries signed contracts for Quria last year, bringing total installations to 178. Libraries using Quria include Bibliotek Familjen Helsingborg, which spans 11 municipalities in Sweden, and the Bochum City Library, the first installation in Germany.
Axiell continues to expand in the UK. Libraries NI, which includes all public libraries in Northern Ireland, completed its migration to OpenGalaxy, another strategic ILS from Axiell. The East Midlands Libraries Consortium, which represents more than 200 library locations, also selected OpenGalaxy in 2023.
Bibliotheca is known for its products related to physical materials, such as self-service kiosks, security gates, automated materials handling equipment, smart lockers for patron pickup, and tools that support unstaffed locations. The company also offers other solutions, such as its digital lending platform, cloudLibrary.
Bibliotheca has undergone a major change in management, with the appointment of Joe Grillo as CEO following the July 2023 retirement of Ray Hood. Several former executives returned to the company last year, including Matt Bellamy as president of the Americas and Jim Hopwood as managing director of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Craig Holmes joined as the new chief financial officer. Bibliotheca is owned by One Equity Partners.
Last year, the company globally launched smartShelf borrow, which uses self-checkout technology to instantly prepare items for checkout once they are returned by patrons. Another new product, cloudCheck Tablet, provides full self-service features on small mobile devices, with the aim of providing more flexible self-service options for patrons.
The Library Corporation (TLC), founded in 1974, has mostly steered clear of mergers, apart from its acquisitions of CARL Corporation in 2000 and Tech Logic in 2005. Tech Logic, specializing in RFID technologies, automated materials handling equipment, and self-service kiosks, is operated as an independent company in Oakdale, Minnesota. TLC continues to develop and market its CARL•Solution automation system, designed for larger public libraries and consortia. The company has 103 employees.
The Library•Solution platform was introduced in 1997 and is used mostly by mid-sized public libraries. Library•Solution for Schools, a version configured for K–12 libraries, primarily serves centralized school districts. In 2023, six libraries and two school districts selected Library•Solution, increasing total installations to 656. Two new libraries signed contracts for the CARL•X ILS, which now has 18 installations across 500 library locations.
TLC has shifted many of its customers to its hosting services, branded as TLC•Cloud Services. The company currently provides hosting for 68% of Library•Solution and 94% of CARL•Solution customers. On the product development front, TLC released new reporting dashboards that provide real-time visualizations of key operational data.
As development continues on open source products Evergreen, FOLIO, and Koha, these platforms gain functionality that matches or exceeds those of proprietary products. Moreover, commercially supported open source implementations generally do not require any more technical expertise than their proprietary counterparts. Many libraries are moving from proprietary to open source products to save costs, but now there are also examples of institutions moving away from open source products.
ByWater Solutions specializes in support services for open source library products, and the company has steadily grown since its establishment in 2009. Last year, ByWater Solutions added 10 employees, increasing its roster to 50 people. The company closed 47 contracts for its services for Koha, which it now supports in 1,619 libraries.
In October 2023, ByWater Solutions expanded internationally through an investment in PTFS Europe, a main provider of support services for Koha and other open source products in the UK, Ireland, and continental Europe. Jonathan Field will continue to lead PTFS Europe as managing director, with ByWater Solutions founders Nathan Curulla and Brendan Gallagher now serving on PTFS Europe’s board of directors.
In 2023, libraries selecting support from ByWater Solutions for Koha migrated from multiple proprietary products, including 82 from Symphony, 20 from Polaris, 12 from Library•Solution, and two from OCLC Wise. Consortia selecting Koha included the Yavapai Library Network in Arizona and the Ramapo Catskill Library System in New York.
The company supports 735 installations of Aspen Discovery, an increase of 41 since 2022. Aspen Discovery can be used with Koha or with select proprietary ILS products, including CARL•X, Polaris, Sierra, and Symphony. ByWater Solutions offers support for FOLIO to six libraries in partnership with EBSCO Information Services.
ByWater Solutions collaborates with developers in the global Koha community and makes significant contributions to advancing the software’s capabilities through code, documentation, and testing. Koha is the predominant ILS for libraries in Latin America, India, and lower-income countries opting for open source—and is thus believed to be the most widely used ILS in the world.
Many libraries are moving from proprietary to open source products to save costs, but now there are also examples of institutions moving away from open source products.
PTFS Europe supports open source products that overlap with those supported by ByWater Solutions. Some of its major contracts in 2023 include multiple consortia of UK’s National Health Service libraries, the Armenian Institute in the UK, and Dalarna University in Sweden. Middlesbrough (UK) Libraries, a customer of PTFS Europe’s services for Koha since 2019, contracted with the company for Aspen Discovery. PTFS Europe does not have a direct business relationship with the Maryland-based company PTFS, which owns LibLime.
Index Data, a consulting firm with offices in Boston and Denmark, is considered a pioneer in the development of open source technology infrastructure. The company provides hosting, support, and development services for 53 libraries implementing FOLIO, including 10 new projects initiated in 2023. New support agreements made in 2023 include Emerson College, Emmanuel College, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Wentworth Institute of Technology, all associated with the Fenway Library Organization consortium and located in the Boston area.
Index Data has also been a major contributor to the ReShare open source resource sharing platform. Last year, the company partnered with Boston Library Consortium on an enhancement for ReShare that supports controlled digital lending. Minitex, a research-sharing network based in Minnesota, also joined ReShare with hosting and support from Index Data.
The company has also created the Library Data Platform, an open source analytics portal that pulls from multiple sources of internal and external usage data. Organizations adopting the Library Data Program in 2023 include Stanford (Calif.) University; Cornell University in Ithaca, New York; and the GBV Common Library Network in Germany.
Equinox Open Library Initiative specializes in hosting and support services for open source library software. The organization, which converted from for-profit to nonprofit status in 2017, is led by Executive Director Lisa Carlucci.
Equinox is best known for its services related to Evergreen, an open source ILS designed for consortia of public libraries. Last year, 11 new libraries migrated to Equinox, primarily those joining existing consortia, including PaILS in Pennsylvania and the Missouri Evergreen consortium. Equinox currently supports 830 library locations using Evergreen.
In 2023, the company made one new support sale for Koha, to the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries. Equinox also reported four contracts for Aspen Discovery, spanning 101 library locations.
Last year, Equinox made a major revision to the Evergreen MARC editor, reflecting the company’s commitment to projects that improve accessibility and usability. Equinox employees are involved in the development committees and interest groups for Evergreen and Koha, and the company’s equinoxEDU program creates training materials, workshops, and tutorials that cover the full range of products it supports.
TIND is a small company that launched in 2013 to commercialize applications based on the open source Invenio system. (Invenio was developed for the library at CERN, the nuclear research facility in Switzerland that created the Large Hadron Collider.) These applications include the TIND ILS, which last year saw 16 total installations and no new sales; the digital archive product TIND DA, with 21 total installations and three sales; and research data management platform TIND RDM, with seven total installations and two sales.
In 2023, TIND DA was selected by the Center for Research Libraries to back its digital collections of more than 40 million items. University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Washington University in St. Louis implemented TIND RDM. And Warren-Trumbull County (Ohio) Public Library became the first public library to implement TIND DA, which it will use to support its Trumbull Memory Project, a local history archive.
Public libraries continue to rely on ILSes for core automation, though many invest in additional layers of technology for patron-facing interfaces and services. These libraries appreciate enhanced patron services from their ILS vendor, but in the absence of compelling offerings, may shop with other providers. There continues to be a modest churn of public libraries migrating to new ILS products.
BiblioCommons provides advanced discovery, patron engagement, and web content management services for public libraries. The company was founded in 2007 and acquired by Volaris Group (part of Constellation Software) in 2020. In July 2023, cofounder Marty Tarle was named general manager of BiblioCommons. The company does not offer its own ILS products; its Biblio- line of services complement a library’s existing system.
BiblioCore provides a modern user experience for resource discovery and patron services, enabling users to search collections, place holds or requests, build lists of materials, and share those lists with others. In 2023, BiblioCore was selected by Toledo-Lucas County (Ohio) Public Library, Richmond (Calif.) Public Library, Naperville (Ill.) Public Library, Richmond Hill (Ontario) Public Library, Warren County (Ky.) Public Library, and the Valley Library Consortium in Michigan.
Combining BiblioCore with BiblioWeb—an application that enables libraries to build and update their website with customizable widgets and content blocks—creates a unified appearance and integration between a library’s website and catalog. Last year, Stouffville Public Library and Thunder Bay Public Library, both in Ontario, were among the libraries implementing both products.
BiblioEvents allows libraries to manage programs and integrate and segment promotional content across their catalog, website, and marketing emails. The BiblioApps mobile app, picked up by 11 new libraries, enables patrons to search and interact with library resources on their digital devices.
BiblioCommons deployed new developments across its product line in 2023, with a focus on helping libraries leverage usage statistics. The company completed an extensive project that migrated users to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) from the discontinued Google Universal Analytics. The company also created its BiblioCommons Analytics Platform, backed by GA4, to provide in-depth insights for BiblioCommons applications.
In a similar vein, BiblioCommons has developed a metrics tool to help libraries assess and improve the impact of their virtual services. A new Personalized Promotions feature in BiblioWeb pushes out library-created content to patrons as they search and browse related materials.
Auto-Graphics, based in Rancho Cucamonga, California, has an interesting product profile: It offers the VERSO ILS for small and mid-sized public libraries, as well as the SHAREit interlibrary loan platform used by many statewide interlibrary loan services. The company is publicly traded, which is unusual for an organization of its size (29 employees).
Last year, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission selected SHAREit to support its statewide interlibrary loan service. Additionally, Auto-Graphics partnered with the Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium to create a shared print discovery catalog for academic libraries.
Auto-Graphics enhanced its VERSO ILS with new streamlined workflows for cataloging and reporting. For libraries using VERSO that are also part of SHAREit networks, improvements were made to the Circulation–Interlibrary Loan Link integration. The company is currently developing a reports module that will emphasize visualizations that convey strategic insights.
Systematic is a large information technology company that operates across many sectors. Its Library and Learning division developed the Cicero ILS, originally created to provide a common automation system for all public and school libraries in Denmark. At 2,428 installations, this shared implementation is widely considered the largest single implementation of a library management system in the world.
In March 2023, the public library system of Oslo, Norway, completed its migration to Cicero, and another nearly 100 municipalities in Norway have signed contracts to implement the platform. Altogether, Systematic signed 160 contracts for Cicero in 2023, spanning 543 library locations. Systematic reported 3,047 total installations of Cicero, an impressive figure for a product that saw its first implementation only eight years ago. The platform seems well positioned for further global expansion.
Baratz, a mid-sized company in Madrid, Spain, employs 30 people and serves libraries and information centers in Spanish-speaking countries and regions. Baratz is part of Total Specific Solutions, an operating company of Constellation Software.
Baratz offers the AbsysNet ILS used by most public libraries in Spain, often through large networks serving municipalities, states, or entire autonomous regions. (Libraries can also opt for the hosted version, AbsysCloud.) In 2023, 37 libraries signed contracts for AbsysNet, increasing its reach to 3,039 installations.
Baratz recently introduced the ODA discovery interface, providing access to electronic resources not managed within AbsysNet. In 2023, ODA was implemented to support the Catálogo Colectivo de la Red de Bibliotecas Universitarias, comprising 22 million bibliographic records. There are currently two implementations of ODA, representing 351 installations.
In February, Total Specific Solutions acquired the Madrid-based company DIGIBÍS, which specializes in digitization services for libraries and archives. The companies will initially operate independently, with DIGIBÍS gradually merging with Baratz.
Book Systems is a mid-sized, privately owned company that has been in business since 1989. It develops and supports the Atriuum ILS primarily used by school, public, and academic libraries. The company currently employs a workforce of 57.
In 2023, 108 libraries spanning 248 locations signed agreements for Atriuum, bringing total installations up to 5,362. Of these sites, 3,854 are school libraries, 1,036 are public libraries, 73 are academic libraries, and 399 represent other library types. Migrations to Atriuum include libraries moving from larger-scale products (such as Evergreen, Library•Solution, Polaris, and Sierra), as well as from other smaller systems (such as Follett’s Destiny Library Manager, Mandarin’s Oasis, VERSO, and Biblionix’s Apollo). School districts implementing Atriuum last year include Mobile County (Ala.) Public Schools, migrating from Destiny.
Biblionix, based in Austin, Texas, provides automation solutions for public libraries. Its web-based Apollo ILS provides streamlined functionality that is especially designed for small and mid-sized institutions. Libraries selecting Apollo include those leaving Destiny, Evergreen, Koha, and Polaris, as well as those exiting from a consortium to implement an independent automation system. Although most libraries using Apollo are single-building libraries with small to medium collections, it is used by a few multibranch libraries. Forty-one libraries signed contracts for Apollo in 2023, bringing total installations up to 950.
Biblionix offers a resource sharing configuration called FlexShare, which enables libraries using Apollo to form groups with other libraries, allowing patrons to search and borrow materials across all participating collections. FlexShare groups can decide whether to accept library cards from partner libraries, how book returns are handled, and whether cross-library holds or reserves are allowed. Biblionix has set up more than 20 FlexShare groups, representing 93 libraries.
The company is developing an event management option through a pilot program with public library customers in Michigan. A new option is now available in the Apollo online catalog to limit search results to either children’s or nonchildren’s materials.
In 2022, Biblionix expanded its product line to include Artemis, a web-based system using similar technology as Apollo but with features designed for K–12 school libraries. Last year, four libraries selected Artemis, increasing total installations to nine school libraries.
LibraryWorld is a company with six employees that provides a web-based ILS by the same name for small and mid-sized libraries. Established in 1985, the company is owned and managed by founder and CEO Norman Kline. The company fills an important niche by offering affordable yet full-featured automation products for libraries with modest resources.
In 2023, 67 libraries signed contracts with LibraryWorld, increasing total installations to 2,787 (of which 1,799 are school libraries, 110 are small academic libraries, 196 are public libraries, and 682 are special libraries). The company introduced WikiLibrary in 2021 as an even lower-cost ILS option. To date, 116 libraries have signed up for this service, including 68 subscribers in 2023.
Libraries serving government agencies, corporations, law firms, museums, archives, and other types of organizations have different technology needs from public, academic, and school libraries. Many special libraries do not have public-facing websites or catalogs, and issues of intellectual property make it difficult to collect data on some of the platforms used.
Keystone Systems develops technologies used primarily by libraries and associations serving individuals with visual disabilities, including many statewide services and multistate networks. The company, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, introduced the initial version of the Keystone Library Automation System (KLAS) in 1983. It’s privately owned by its founders and employs 16 people, five of whom are librarians.
KLAS is currently used by 117 library organizations. The company is an active participant in the community of specialized libraries, contributing to conferences and offering training on its products and services. Keystone fills a need by supporting a limited number of libraries that have unique requirements and workflows.
Soutron Global is a mid-sized company based in San Diego with 22 employees. The company was founded in 2012 and later merged with Soutron Limited in 2022. Tony Saadat serves as president and CEO.
Soutron Global offers the Soutron ILS designed for libraries in law firms, corporations, and other special libraries. These libraries may or may not have traditional print collections, and they often serve increasingly distributed and virtual organizations.
In 2023, the company signed 19 contracts for Soutron, increasing total installations to 339. Four new contracts were signed for archives management system Soutron Archive, bringing total installations to 47.
There are nearly 130,000 public and private K–12 schools in the US, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The K–12 school library arena represents a large portion of the overall library technology industry. Notably, most school districts choose centralized systems to automate their libraries.
Follett School Solutions is by far the largest provider of technology products for libraries serving pre-K through grade 12, supplying about three-quarters of school libraries in the US with its Destiny ILS.
Follett School Solutions separated from Follett Corporation in 2021, when it was acquired by Francisco Partners. In January 2023, Follett School Solutions acquired Access-It Software, which offers the Accessit automation system for schools that is primarily used in New Zealand. Follett did not respond to this year’s vendor survey.
Other companies serving K–12 school libraries with ILS platforms include TLC (Library•Solution for Schools), Book Systems (Atriuum), COMPanion (Alexandria), and Media Flex (OPALS).
Competitive dynamics between big companies offering similar solutions have increased pressure for innovation and meaningful product development.
Mergers and acquisitions in the library technology industry have slowed but not halted. As the global economy sees projected growth, we can anticipate some movement involving the companies owned by private equity firms. This may mean lateral changes of ownership or mergers within or beyond the industry over the next few years.
Competitive dynamics between big companies offering similar solutions—such as the relationship between Clarivate and EBSCO—have increased pressure for innovation and meaningful product development. Organizations at the top are building platforms that address an increasing scope of functionality and have set ambitious roadmaps to further transform their offerings. Smaller and mid-sized companies will continue to create specialized solutions that meet customer needs appropriately and affordably.
At the behest of top-tier libraries, the race is on to create bibliographic and discovery environments supporting BIBFRAME and other linked data concepts. Companies will likely soon complete enhancements to support BIBFRAME, but the level of demand for these products remains to be seen.
The real unknown is AI. While many companies featured in this year’s and last year’s reports have announced ongoing plans to add generative AI to their offerings, this technology has not yet been integrated in any significant way. As the industry continues to work on harnessing AI in ways that limit bias and error, libraries can anticipate more prominent use of this technology in products within the next year or so.
This report mostly covers two types of products: the integrated library system (ILS) and the library services platform (LSP).
An ILS includes modules for broad areas of operations—such as cataloging, acquisitions, and circulation—and offers online catalog or patron search services. These products are usually based on legacy server architecture, though a single implementation may support dozens or hundreds of libraries, such as a multibranch system or a consortium. SirsiDynix’s Symphony, Innovative’s Polaris and Sierra, and the open source Koha, among others, fall into this category.
An LSP is designed to manage complex, multiformat library collections with built-in knowledge bases that can efficiently manage large-scale collections of electronic resources. LSP products are deployed on multitenant, web-native platforms that can serve thousands of library organizations. They have broader functionality than ILSes and use newer software architectures. Ex Libris’ Alma, the open source FOLIO, and OCLC WorldShare Management Services are examples. Index-based discovery services are implemented alongside LSPs, usually from the same vendor. For example, libraries using Alma have Primo or Summon, and WorldShare Management Services subscribers use WorldCat Discovery.
ILS products continue to be favored by public and school libraries with smaller budgets and limited collections of electronic resources, while academic libraries have largely transitioned to LSPs. And while public libraries continue to find the ILS more appropriate for their needs, ILSes are increasingly supplemented by products for discovery or patron engagement. •
The 2024 Library Systems Report documents ongoing investments of libraries in strategic technology products in 2023. It covers for-profit and nonprofit organizations that offer strategic resource management products—especially integrated library systems and library services platforms—and comprehensive discovery products.
The vendors included have responded to a survey requesting details about their organization, sales performance, and narrative explanations of accomplishments. Additional sources consulted include press releases, news articles, and other publicly available information. Most of the organizations provided lists of libraries represented in the statistics reported, allowing for more detailed analysis and validation.
Additional personnel information, sales statistics, and vendor-provided narratives are available at Library Technology Guides.
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