Features
A full integrated library system, running on one ordinary PC.
Bookleaf was not scoped down to fit a small library. It was built so a small library could run the real thing without a server, a subscription, or an IT department.
Cataloging
MARC21 import and export, authority-controlled headings, nine material types with type-specific fields, bulk import from Excel or CSV, per-copy accession numbers and shelf locations, and barcode stocktake.
Learn more →Circulation
A loan policy matrix resolved per patron category and material type. Enforced borrowing limits with logged overrides, automatic fine calculation, renewals with a cap, holds, and a barcode-driven desk.
Learn more →Patron app & OPAC
Students search, place holds, renew, check due dates and fines, save favorites and leave reviews from their own phones. A gate QR logs entry and exit for the visitor count.
Learn more →Reports & dashboard
An operational dashboard that answers "what needs attention today", plus circulation trends, overdue aging, most-borrowed titles, collection breakdowns, fines summaries and gate traffic.
Learn more →Also included
The parts nobody puts on a homepage
Every one of these ships in the same ₱1,499 software license. There is no professional tier.
Roles and permissions
Admin, librarian and member, enforced on every operation rather than by hiding buttons. Librarians run the desk; only admins change policy, reset PINs or deactivate accounts.
Encrypted backups
Export the entire library to one AES-256 encrypted file with a passphrase you choose. Without the passphrase the file cannot be read, so a lost flash drive is not a data breach.
Configurable policy
Loan periods, fines per day, grace periods, renewal caps and borrowing limits are all yours to set — globally, or per patron category and material type.
Fines and payments
Overdue fines are calculated on return from the policy that applied, recorded against the borrow, and marked paid when settled. Outstanding balances are visible to the patron.
Holds and reservations
A patron can place a hold on a title that is out. Bookleaf tracks the queue so the next copy returned goes to the person who has been waiting.
Gate log
Patrons scan a QR at the door to record entry and exit. That gives you a defensible visitor count by day and by hour, which is usually the number administration asks for.
Being straight with you
What Bookleaf does not do
Knowing this now is worth more to both of us than finding out in month three.
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No access from outside the building
Patrons must be on your Wi-Fi. There is no public catalog on the internet, because there is no internet component at all.
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No multi-branch or union catalog
One institution, one building, one database. Libraries that need holdings shared across campuses should be looking at Koha or a consortium system.
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No SMS or email notices
Overdue reminders appear in the app and on the librarian's dashboard. Sending them out would require exactly the internet dependency the product is built to avoid.
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No Z39.50 copy cataloging
You cannot pull a record live from the Library of Congress. You can import MARCXML that someone else exported, which covers most of the same ground offline.
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No iOS patron app yet
The patron app is Android. In the schools we built this for that covers nearly everyone, but if your students are on iPhones, this is a real gap today.
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No macOS or Linux desktop build
The librarian app is Windows 10 and 11. If you have no Windows PC at all, the Android server is the supported path.
Try it on your own catalog this week.
Download Bookleaf and run the full system free for 7 days — every feature, no card, no account needed. If it fits, the software license is ₱1,499, one time.