For years we have had thousands of requests to add board game cataloging to Libib.
It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a while, but we never found a good data source for this information.
Today we start trying something new: Crowdsourcing!
Board game entry is live and currently in beta. This means that for the time being, we are only offering cataloging board games as manual entry while we build up our internal database of items.
We’re asking you to help us collect this information so that other Libib users can easily scan in their items.
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It is incredibly important that your entries be as complete as possible. Especially adding a barcode for the board game!
When you add an item with a barcode, Libib will check to see if anyone has entered it yet, and if not, we’ll ask if you’re okay with us adding it to the database.
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If you say no, then it just gets added to your catalog. If you say yes, it gets added to your catalog and gets sent to us for review.
Once we have built up a decent database, we’ll flip on the ability to scan for everyone.
Available now on both the website and mobile app. Thank you so much for being patient while we added this feature, and happy cataloging!
In the past, when Pro accounts offered self-checkouts through their published library or through a kiosk, we just relied on the honor system to stop patrons from checking out more items than they should or for placing holds. The only way to really prevent this was to delete the patron completely, but that had the unwanted side effect of removing patron histories and current checkouts/holds.
Now we offer library managers the option to freeze a patron account. If a library manager chooses to freeze a patron, that patron will no longer be able checkout or place holds themselves. Instead, when they attempt to checkout an item, they will be given a notification that their account is currently frozen.
To freeze a patron account, login to the website and navigate to: Lending > Patrons > Edit Patron > Freeze Toggle > Save (“Edit Patron” button)
This option is also available when adding a patron: Lending > Patrons > Add Patron > Freeze Toggle > Save (“Add Patron” button)
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When viewing your list of patrons, any patrons that are frozen will have a blue striped background as a visual indication to quickly identify.
This background visual is also shown when on the primary Lending page, and while you can ignore the freeze if you are checking an item out to a frozen patron, you will have the knowledge that the patron is currently banned from self-checkout and self-holds.
We’re excited to offer this new feature to our Pro accounts and hope it helps you out with your patron management!
Did you know there’s an easy way to correct bad or missing info on Libib?
If the title, description, publisher, date, ANYTHING is incomplete or incorrect, Libib offers you a flagging feature on the website. The flag notifies the Libib staff that something is wrong. We will look over it and correct it within 48 hours.
Flagging will fix not just your record, but will fix the primary record for everyone else as well.
Today we introduced a new additional way to edit individual fields on an item.
Each item now displays a pencil icon which will bring up a quick edit menu.
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This menu is completely accessible through the keyboard; no need to use the mouse to click on anything once it’s up!
Begin searching for the field name that you want to edit, and the list of options automatically reduce down to your choice.
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Click enter on the keyboard to select the first option, or press the down-arrow key to select what you want.
Your cursor is automatically placed in the input box, and you can start typing.
Hit enter to save, or tab to the save button and hit enter.
Once it is saved, you are brought right back to the searchable fields, where you can immediately begin editing another field. When you’re done, simply hit escape on your keyboard to close out.
We’ve been working hard to extend support for Android 9 and fix loading issues related to iOS 13.2 and below. We’re happy to announce that today we have released v5.0.2 to address both. You can download this update now.
In addition to adding support for Android 9, we also fixed a font rendering issue on Android devices where the font would be larger than intended cutting off parts of your items details. We also released a fix for manual entries through the app.
Thanks for your patience as we worked through these issues.
Update: Initial post had launch date of February 19, 2022. This has been pushed an additional week. Launch date is now February 26, 2022.
We’ve been working on some updates…
For just over a year now, we’ve been working on rebuilding Libib with the goal of providing updates much faster than in the past.
We’re finally nearing the end of this journey, and have settled on a launch date of February 26th, 2022.
But this rebuild isn’t just about future updates. We will also be including new features out of the gate:
Everyone
All libraries for all users will now allow mixed types No longer will you need to designate a library as a book or movie library. Any library can hold whatever type of item that we support. The type of item will be identified by a non-intrusive icon and item types are searchable.
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Dark mode display option There’s a new profile option which will allow you to theme Libib in a dark mode. Great for low-light environments or those who have an aesthetic preference for it.
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Updated Dashboards The dashboards have been redesigned to be easier to read and more informative.
Auto detect Item Add search method The website will now detect whether you are searching with an ISBN or using keywords. You no longer have to manually choose.
Improved Collections Search We’ve tweaked the searching algorithm to provide a better result set when searching through your own library.
Libib Pro
Batch editing has been fully integrated This has long been a to-do item for us. Batch editing is no longer a separate section, but is part of the basic functionality of Libib on the website. You can search and add items to a batch edit queue, you can select all items within a library, and you can easily move from one library to another without losing your batch selections!
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Users can restore accidentally deleted items, libraries and patrons Items, libraries and patrons can now be restored if they were accidentally deleted (for up to 30 days). We’ve seen how an accidental deletion of a library can cause heartaches for those who have so lovingly curated their collections, and we wanted to make sure that there was a way to reverse that with this update. Any lending or holds history will also return once restored.
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You can only ever be the account owner of your own account, but a user can now also be a manager for multiple additional accounts. You will be able to switch accounts from the profile menu.
Add tags to patrons Tagging patrons allows you to create a quick keyword that you can search by. For example, if you want to have a subset of patrons for a specific classroom, you can now tag that patron and search for that tag.
New manager role: Lender In addition to the Admin and Manager roles, we have added a Lender role. This type of manager can ONLY lend items and add/edit patrons. They will not have the ability to edit collections.
Published Library Announcements To mitigate the removal of the feed, Pro users can set up an unobtrusive announcement which will be displayed to patrons the first time they visit the published library.
Published Library Mode In addition to the color themes that are currently available, you can also choose to have your published library be in light or dark mode.
Published Library Contact Email Choose to allow your patrons to contact you through an email address that you provide.
Lending Search The lending section search box has been reconfigured to be more robust and help narrow the result set faster. It is now more in line with the current search on the library.
Additional Custom Fields We’re allowing up to 4 additional custom fields per type of item. So if there’s a specific field that you are wanting and tags aren’t working for that purpose, you can now add that field directly.
Changes and Removals
Published URL We are changing the URL location of the published library. In the past, you would choose a username and if you published your library to make it publicly accessible, it would be located at username.libib.com We have found this to be limiting in a number of ways, and have decided to change the location to libib.com/u/username For a year afterwards, we will have an auto-redirect from the old URL to the new one so that visitors will not be lost, and to give you time to update any external links.
Removing the Feed We are completely removing all social media aspects of Libib. When we first created the feed, we had goals of really digging into the sharing side of reading… but witnessing and learning about the truly negative aspects of social media, we have decided that this is not something we want continue to pursue and put time in. The feed along with following users will be completely removed with the new update.
Username is no more Because we are removing the social media aspect, the username is no longer needed. Instead you can choose the alias for your published library on the published page. For all the current users who have a username, it will automatically be your new published library alias, you won’t lose it!
Naming Convention Changes
Libib Standard (free) is now called Libib Basic (still free)
Libraries are now called Collections
Thanks!
We’re super excited about these updates and looking forward to pushing additional features out fairly quickly after launch. We have plans to start adding additional languages sometime in 2022 as well, and will be announcing those as they come up. Thank you all for sending your ideas through the years and helping us make Libib a better service!
We now offer Pro users the ability to move individual copies of an item from one library to another of the same type.
This oft requested feature is available on the website now, and will be coming to the app in our next major update. For now, the app will continue to move all copies of an item.
The reports section now includes a way to export your current checked out items. A great way to quickly grab the emails you many need all at once for past due items. Don’t forget though, Libib can automatically email your patrons when an item is past due!
When we started offering Libib Pro, it was incredibly important to us
to make the price as affordable as possible but still keep the lights
on. We decided to start at $5/month as an “Early Access” special and had
such a great response that we were able to keep that pricing for 3
years!
Since that time, we have added hundreds of new features to
Pro, and greatly expanded the offering with things like multiple mobile
apps and a barcode label generator. These features have had the
cumulative effect of increasing our costs to the point that they have
now outpaced our initial price point. Starting on April 30, 2018, the base cost of Libib Pro will increase from the early access price of $5/month to $9/month and additional managers on an account will increase from $1/month to $2/month.
CURRENT PRO USERS ARE GRANDFATHERED IN
If you are already a Pro user, your costs
won’t go up. As long as your subscription remains active and in good
standing, you will stay on the early access pricing forever after!
If you aren’t a Pro user, but want
to get grandfathered into the current early-access pricing, just sign up
for a Pro account by April 29, 2018.
To upgrade, log on to libib.com and navigate to: “Go Pro”
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