News

Toronto, Ontario, September 4, 2024 — BiblioCommons is excited to announce the return of its annual conference, BiblioCon, which will be held online from October 9-11, 2024.

Toronto, Ontario, April 10, 2024 — BiblioCommons is excited to share the launch of Browse and Discover, the brand-new, library-curated BiblioCore experience built to increase catalog engagement. Browse and Discover will combine powerful customization with the personalized user experiences patrons enjoy from modern streaming services and eCommerce websites and apps.

Toronto, Ontario, April 1, 2024 — BiblioCommons is delighted to announce a new data model and dashboard to measure and increase pawtron engagement across public libraries.

Toronto, Ontario, March 27, 2024 — BiblioCommons is thrilled to announce the launch of the BiblioCommons Analytics Platform, a one-stop shop for libraries to gain insight into and improve their patrons’ online experiences.

Toronto, Ontario, March 13, 2024 — BiblioCommons is delighted to announce the appointment of Raena Morrison as Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Reflecting on a year of innovation and progress, BiblioCommons has once again raised the bar for library engagement and accessibility. With the rollout of new features and services, proactive security measures, and the invaluable contributions from the BiblioCommons community of Partner Libraries, we look forward to what's next and invite all libraries to celebrate all the past year's achievements.

Toronto, Ontario, August 3, 2023 — BiblioCon, the Online Public Library Conference hosted by BiblioCommons, is back this year and will be hosted online from September 20-22, 2023.

Toronto, Ontario, June 23, 2023 — BiblioCommons is pleased to announce the appointment of Marty Tarle as the new General Manager of BiblioCommons as of July 1, 2023. Marty will replace Sebastien Lopes, who will transition into a new role within the parent company, Volaris Group, leading multiple companies in the library industry.

Patron-centered and industry-informed: BiblioCommons helps libraries exceed patron expectations by delivering tech industry-quality public library experiences. In 2022, BiblioCommons products and services continued to evolve while prioritizing patron functionality and supporting the online public library experience with a specific focus on data, accessibility, DEI, security, self-service, and functionality to delight library staff and patrons.

Toronto, Ontario, July 14, 2022 — BiblioCon, the Online Public Library Conference hosted by BiblioCommons is back this year with incredible new speakers and insightful sessions that cover various topics about the digital library experience. Like last year, this year's event will be held virtually to enable audiences from far and wide to attend.

Toronto, Ontario, May 31, 2022 — Two extremely exciting partnerships were formed between public libraries and BiblioCommons in the first few months of 2022. Glenview Public Library and Harris County Public Library are now members of the BiblioCommons shared digital platform. The BiblioTeam is thrilled to work with these two incredible libraries to help them unlock the full potential of the web to welcome, inspire, and connect their communities.

Toronto, Ontario, Feb 4, 2022 — As we look back at the past year, we recognize more than ever before how incredible public libraries are and how critical they are in bringing communities together. Unlike 2020, 2021 was the first full year where all nations around the globe faced COVID-19 challenges every single day of the year. While the new “normal” was different for everyone, we’ve seen unprecedented levels of communication, collaboration, and resourcefulness at a large scale across nations and in smaller circles across communities and neighborhoods. With strength and resilience, public libraries demonstrated their agility in serving their patrons and communities. The impact public libraries make in patrons’ lives is undeniable and truly inspirational.

Toronto, Ontario, July 7, 2021 — BiblioCommons formed new partnerships with public libraries across the United States and Canada in the second quarter of the year. The BiblioCommons team is excited at the opportunity to work with new consortia and public libraries of all sizes in urban, suburban, and rural areas across North America. Newly subscribed libraries include Yuma County Library District, the Ontario Library Consortium, and Westerville Public Library. These libraries are either on Symphony or Sierra ILSs (Integrated Library Systems.) BiblioCommons will work closely with the new partners to help transform their online library services into more engaging and rewarding experiences.

Toronto, Ontario, June 23, 2021 — Connecting patrons to programs and services provided by public libraries is a fundamental goal of all libraries and their stakeholders. The most effective way for libraries to connect to users is via a holistic digital experience that includes engaging content, dynamic events listings, and relevant email communications. To that end, the team at BiblioCommons is pleased to share that BiblioEmail, the email marketing tool that was released in February of 2021, is now included with BiblioWeb, the most robust content management system and webpage builder for public libraries.

Toronto, Ontario, April 12, 2021 — In the first three months of 2021, BiblioCommons formed new partnerships with public libraries across the United States. Newly subscribed libraries include Canton Public Library, Chandler Public Library, East Chicago Public Library, Elk Grove Village Public Library, Glendale Library, Arts & Culture, Herrick District Library, Kenton County Public Library, Strathcona County Library Board, and Tulsa City-County Library.

Toronto, Ontario, February 24, 2021 — Officially announced today at the BiblioCon '21 Welcome Keynote, BiblioEmail is now available to all public libraries for pre-order as part of the BiblioCommons suite of services.

Toronto, Ontario, December 30, 2020 — BiblioCommons is pleased to announce that new libraries have come onboard as partners during the fourth quarter of 2020. The new partner libraries include Lakeland Library Cooperative, Hayward Public Library, OWLSnet Library Consortium, Margate City Public Library, Delaware County District Library, and Oakland Public Library.

Toronto, Ontario, December 9, 2020 — BiblioCommons is proud to announce the launch of registration for BiblioCon ‘21, BiblioCommons' bi-ennial public library conference. This year’s all virtual event will bring together public libraries and BiblioCommons team members for interactive sessions, networking events, and more.

Toronto, Ontario, December 1, 2020 — BiblioCommons is pleased to announce that Sebastien Lopes has been appointed General Manager of BiblioCommons as of December 1, 2020. Sebastien Lopes will be replacing Matt Goddard, who will be transitioning to a sister company under the Volaris Group of companies.

Toronto, Ontario, November 25, 2020 — With public library buildings across North America closed or restricting access, connecting patrons with the library's collections online has never been more critical. BiblioCommons has released new functionality in the BiblioCore catalog that creates an enhanced online browsing experience facilitating endless routes for patrons to discover what to read, watch or listen to next — even when they can’t physically browse the shelves at the library. “I literally LOVED this new update. As a bookie, I love exploring new books and genres.” - Edmonton Public Library Patron

Toronto, Ontario, September 22, 2020 — The BiblioCommons team is proud to announce the launch of the all-new BiblioApps for Android. Unlike other apps for public libraries, BiblioApps is designed in the context of the full patron experience. BiblioApps broadens and deepens patron engagement with the public library by providing an exceptional, personalized, modern mobile experience that is now available for both iOS and Android platforms. “When I saw the new BiblioCommons app, I became a believer in going back to a mobile app solution,” says Anthony White, Web Systems Manager at Arapahoe Libraries.

Toronto, Ontario, May 8, 2020—The BiblioCommons Team is proud to announce a number of new feature improvements across the BiblioCommons platform to support libraries in serving their communities in an all, or mostly, online environment. As public libraries closed their buildings to the public in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team at BiblioCommons reached out to our library partners to determine which enhancements would help the most as libraries worked to deliver and enhance online services to their communities. These new enhancements include…

In our new reality, the online public library experience is more important than ever before.

Toronto, Ontario February 10th, 2020 – On February 10th, 2020 Volaris Group finalized the acquisition of BiblioCommons. Volaris is a Canadian software success story that is focused on acquiring, strengthening and growing vertical market software companies.

In order to determine the impact of subscribing to its public library software, BiblioCommons recently retained an independent consultant to complete an in-depth statistical analysis of the impact of BiblioCommons online services on North American public libraries.

This week at the American Library Association conference in Washington, D.C., Product Directors from BiblioCommons will share new versions of BiblioWeb and BiblioApps, as well as introduce BiblioEmail, an exciting new email marketing service developed specifically for public libraries.

2017 was a lively year of change and growth at BiblioCommons! We’ve welcomed many new libraries for both BiblioCore and BiblioWeb, and have more libraries getting ready to launch.

“BiblioCommons stands out as the only commercial interface able to displace the built-in catalogs of major ILS products.”

For years the library community has been dreaming of a 'FRBRized' catalog. After many iterations and a year of live beta testing, BiblioCommons has realized this dream by launching Grouped Search for libraries using the BiblioCore catalog across the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Eight years after its initial launch, BiblioCommons is proud to announce the upcoming release of version 3.0 of its BiblioWeb website-building and content-publishing platform.

2017 was a lively year of change and growth at BiblioCommons! We’ve welcomed many new libraries for both BiblioCore and BiblioWeb, and have more libraries getting ready to launch.

2016 has been a very exciting year for the team at BiblioCommons! We’ve welcomed many new libraries to our family, both as BiblioCore and BiblioWeb libraries. We’ve made great strides toward increased accessibility and in making our products mobile responsive.

As of January 2017, BiblioCommons has partnered with Bullfrog Power to enable a green online presence for public libraries, and to support the supply of green energy. By choosing to power our BiblioCore and BiblioWeb production servers with 100% green electricity, BiblioCommons is taking a step to reduce its carbon-emission footprint, and those of its partner libraries.

Extending its integration of digital resources into library catalogs and continuous investment in record enrichment, BiblioCommons today announced its intent to provide automated eContent catalog records to libraries through its new BiblioCloudRecords service. The service will eliminate the need for libraries to upload and manage eContent MARC records in their integrated library system (ILS). The BiblioCloud Records module will launch with OverDrive titles and be available in fall of 2016.

BiblioCommons is excited to announce a number of new public library partnerships in the first quarter of 2016. Hennepin County Library (MN), Douglas County Libraries (CO), Arapahoe Libraries (CO), St. Louis Public Library (MO), MARINet (CA), Kansas City Public Library (MO), Mid-Continent Public Library (MO), Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library (KS), Vaughan Public Libraries (ON), Kokomo-Howard County Library (IN), and Daviess County Public Library (KY) have all started implementing the BiblioCommons Digital Experience Platform in the first few months of 2016.

BiblioCommons is pleased to announce BiblioWeb as part of the best in class digital experience platform for public libraries. Originally launched as BiblioCMS, the name was determined to be too limiting, as it did not convey the full range of features available with the product. Newly rebranded as BiblioWeb, the offering provides much more than a traditional content management system and features library-specific workflows far more robust than what is available in traditional CMS options such as WordPress or Drupal.

2015 was another exciting year for the team at BiblioCommons! This year saw many new libraries come on board as well as a notable increase in the number of libraries adopting our BiblioCMS content management system to take advantage of the integrated website, catalog, and events platform.

BiblioCommons, the only software vendor to focus exclusively on the online experience of public library patrons, announced today that it has expanded its eBook offerings through a new agreement with Penguin Random House. The agreement will add over 38,000 eBook titles to those already available to libraries through the BiblioDigital eBook acquisitions platform.

Many leading public libraries are seeing new opportunities to create fully integrated, engaging websites that attract and retain patrons online with the new BiblioCommons website management platform. BiblioCMS enables libraries to provide a truly integrated online patron experience, delivered through a shared, software-as-a-service platform.

BiblioCommons is pleased to debut a newly designed BiblioCore catalog at the American Library Association Annual Conference 2015. The redesigned catalog features responsive design, streamlined search results, and unique enhancements to support readers’ advisory.

Columbus Metropolitan Library, one of the highest rated public libraries in the United States, has partnered with BiblioCommons for an enhanced catalog and discovery layer that will work in conjunction with the Polaris Integrated Library System (ILS).

BiblioCommons Inc. is pleased to announce a new partnership with the San Diego Public Library to implement BiblioCore, the integrated public library catalog that promotes social discovery and connects large urban and suburban libraries worldwide.

BiblioCommons Inc., in partnership with Boston Public Library, will build a mobile-based app to give patrons a deeper experience at the library, provide them with personalized recommendations and help them collaborate with library staff. The idea was named a winner of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight News Challenge on Libraries.

The year 2014 was eventful for the team at BiblioCommons, with many exciting developments, new public libraries joining the platform, and, most notably, a newly built and launched BiblioCMS service to provide a fully integrated catalog and public library website management service.

BiblioCommons Inc. is pleased to present staff training with Nancy Pearl, avid reader and readers’ advisor, and one of the reading culture’s best known librarians. Staff at libraries using the BiblioCore catalog are encouraged to attend the online training on September 24 and 25. The sessions will be recorded and archived video links will be made available to all BiblioCommons libraries for use in ongoing staff training.

The Pima County Public Library, with 27 branches in Tucson, Arizona and the surrounding communities, has partnered with BiblioCommons for a new integrated catalog discovery layer and website management platform. This new website and catalog will transform the Pima County Public Library online presence into a staff and patron engagement platform, ensuring that the Pima County Library continues to thrive as a community hub, both online and in person.

BiblioCommons Inc. announces a new integrated catalog and website management platform built in partnership with Chicago Public Library. Funded with an investment from the Chicago Public Library Foundation, the new Chicago Public Library website launched officially on April 9, and provides library patrons with an integrated and engaging user experience as they browse their library’s collections, services, locations, and events.

The Brooklyn Public Library and BiblioCommons Inc. are the recipients of a $250,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to create and pilot a library-based digital badging system built on the Mozilla Open Badges standard.

2013 was another exciting and action-packed year for the BiblioCommons Team. BiblioCommons product offerings continue to evolve from a catalog to a complete online public library experience—with newly developed services such BiblioDigital and BiblioCMS, new tools to improve both customer service and staff efficiency such as the Suggest for Purchase module, and much more development around online engagement and supporting literacy via Summer Sites.

King County Library System, one of the most innovative and busy libraries in the United States, has partnered with BiblioCommons for an enhanced catalog and discovery layer that will work in conjunction with the Evergreen ILS.

The Chicago Public Library Foundation and BiblioCommons announced a three-year partnership to accelerate innovation in the Chicago Public Library’s online experience. The partnership will expand on the BiblioCore catalog which is currently live at New York Public Library, Boston Public Library, Seattle Public Library, and many other large libraries but will also include a re-developed website and will feature integrated cross-marketing of collections, events, and services and enhanced community engagement throughout the integrated Chicago Public Library catalog and website.

eBooks, education, and online engagement were the focus of the BiblioCommons team in 2012. In addition to exciting new services and enhancements, BiblioCommons cheerfully welcomed new partner libraries from large urban and suburban areas including Brooklyn Public Library (NY), Austin Public Library (TX), Multnomah County Library (OR), Omaha Public Library (NE), Tulsa City-County Library (OK), Princeton Public Library (NJ), Central Rappahannock Regional Library (VA), Salt Lake City Public Library (UT), Santa Monica Public Library (CA), and others.

In response to requests from partner libraries and patrons, BiblioCommons has developed a seamless integration of e-books and other digital content lending within existing public library catalogs.

One advantage of a shared code base and our emphasis on configuration rather than customization is that the BiblioCommons team can quickly develop, test, and implement new versions of BiblioCore—the heart of our services and our complete OPAC replacement service—every 3-4 weeks.

2011 was a very big year for BiblioCommons, and thanks to all our partner libraries, BiblioCommons grew from 500,000 to 1,600,000+ registered users. A number of new services were developed in 2011.