Openbiblio South Africa

About OpenBiblio

OpenBiblio is a free, open-source Integrated Library System (ILS) designed for efficient library management. Known for its simplicity, multilingual support, and comprehensive documentation, OpenBiblio is widely used by small and rural libraries worldwide.

We provide affordable OpenBiblio hosting in South Africa, with plans starting at R200.00 per month, ensuring fast and reliable access to your library system.

OpenBiblio History

Developed in 2002 by Dave Stevens, OpenBiblio was created to be an easy-to-install, user-friendly library management system. Over time, it has been enhanced with new features and bug fixes. OpenBiblio can be downloaded from Surgeforce Openbiblio

OpenBiblio Usage & Implementations

OpenBiblio is actively used in libraries, schools, and archives worldwide, particularly in regions with limited resources.

Mexico: Recommended for indigenous community libraries, supporting Nahuatl and other languages.
Armenia: Suggested by the National Library of Armenia for 900+ small and rural libraries.
Chile & Latin America: Used in primary schools and gaining interest in Colombia, Cuba, and Venezuela.
Brazil: Researched at the Federal University of Paraíba for training future librarians in automation systems.

Key Features of OpenBiblio

OpenBiblio includes essential library automation features, making it ideal for small to medium-sized libraries:

✅ Circulation: Issue and return books, manage patron records.
✅ Cataloguing: Add, edit, and delete bibliographic records (MARC & MARCXML support).
✅ Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC): User-friendly search interface for patrons.
✅ Administration: Manage settings, users, materials, fines, and library policies.
✅ Reports: Generate custom reports using the built-in RPT syntax.