What are the most commonly used cataloging systems in middle school libraries?

Question

I work in a decent sized middle school library (~10,000 books, I would guesstimate) that's looking for a cataloging system. I've heard Unison and Alexandria mentioned, and would be curious to see what other possibilities are out there.

The school doesn't currently employ a librarian, but will probably hire one in the next few years. I'd like to get a system in place that would be intuitive for a new librarian to use.

Currently there is no ILS software in place, so I'm just looking for something to "get the job done" for a reasonable price - something to let a librarian check books in and out, track what books are checked out to whom, patron fines, etc.

Answer 1

I like Follett Destiny and have found it to be generally user friendly. There are options to host it locally or have them host it on their servers. I had to catalog our entire collection myself and found the copy cataloging to be pretty easy.

You might want to see what system other schools in your area are using. If you intend to hire locally, then this would raise the chances that your new librarian is already familiar with the system.

I'd also suggest consulting with whoever is going to be entering all the books into the system. It might behoove you to get the librarian first, then the ILS.