Power Up Your Library with These 6 Tools -The Ultimate AI Toolkit for Librarians

The AI revolution isn’t just knocking on the library door—it’s already browsing the shelves! More and more, librarians are uncovering cutting-edge ways to harness AI’s transformative power. From managing vast information resources to assisting patrons with precision, AI tools are redefining library operations. Ready to level up your library’s game? Let’s explore some of the […]

Highlights From Our User Group Meetings in Melbourne and Wellington

We recently held two engaging User Group Meetings (UGMs) in Oceania, bringing together our wonderful community of Liberty and illumin users. Our first UGM took place in Melbourne, Australia, on August 22nd, followed by another in Wellington, New Zealand, on September 5th. Our UGM’s are designed to provide attendees with insights, interactive sessions, and networking opportunities.

Use our Free App to Grow Your Library – and Other Great Ideas

Everyone has heard of the library, but have they heard of your Library? Libraries are amazing places, and are full of information and resources that can benefit anyone who steps inside. Promoting your library is essential to its success, we all know this. But how can you get people to visit your library if they don’t even know it […]

The Future is Near: Liberty Digital is Coming Soon

A Tradition of Innovation For over four decades, Softlink has been at the forefront of digital transformation. Softlink was one of the first to offer a Library Management System when libraries were transitioning from card catalogs to computers and one of the first to pioneer web-based systems for library management.   Why Liberty Digital? While […]

5 Essential Productivity Hacks for Your Library

Navigating the intricacies of an Integrated Library System (ILS) is second nature to you, mastering tasks like cataloging, circulation, and managing patron records. But what if there’s a way to elevate your library’s efficiency to the next level? Let’s explore five productivity hacks that could redefine the way you manage your library’s operations.

How to Source eBooks for Your Library

Are you wanting to increase your library’s eBook offerings? You’re not alone. Libraries are increasingly offering digital as well as hard copy resources. EBooks are just one of a wide variety of eresources that are an increasingly common offering in all types of libraries, from specials to public. But where can librarians, who want to […]

Beginner’s Guide to Reporting in Your Library

Reports are a librarian’s best friend and extracting verifiable data from their integrated library management system (ILMS) is increasingly non-negotiable. Reporting ensures you are all over the information you and your management team need. Best of all, reports prove the value of a library!

There’s another reason why reporting in your library is vital. Have you ever had to argue a case for increases to budgets, new technology, an up-to-date ILMS, additional eResources, or additional staff? Asking for more like David Copperfield with a bowl in his hands, won’t work for librarians any more than it did for him!

Softlink IC understands the real value of reporting. Our customers love Liberty’s Reporting and Analytics features. So, if you are a beginner and part of your responsibility is to produce various reports, where do you begin? Here are a few tips that may help!

Future Trends and Services in Libraries

A significant increase in access to libraries online via their Home page, self-service options, mobile technology, and expanding digital resource collections was already evidenced prior to COVID-19’s impact. This was borne out by the results of Softlink IC’s #gotknowledge2020 library survey. Fortunately, many library staff have been assisted by feature rich, cloud-based library management systems (LMSs) like Liberty during a what has been a challenging 2020.

One of the aspects the survey sought to identify was what library and knowledge center workers themselves believed would be the emerging trends and services that would influence their libraries in the future.

The Increasing Sophistication of Artificial Intelligence and Libraries

To paraphrase Ratty’s conversation to Mole, in A. A. Milne’s wonderful Wind in the Willows, Softlink IC’s developers have been “messing about” in artificial intelligence (AI). That’s not to say our developers aren’t intelligent. Certainly, they are clever enough to recognize the importance of artificial intelligence now and into the future.