--- title: Best hospice library software (free options included) Metadescription: Compare the best hospice library software for a volunteer book trolley. Free and low-cost ways to track books lent to patients without the fuss. Display description: A hospice library is a trolley of large-print books and a volunteer who knows every patient. The software needs to be gentle and quick, not a full lending system. author: Dan Edwards author_role: Founder author_url: https://danedwardsdeveloper.com author_linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-edwards-developer published: 2026-07-02 --- Token estimate: ~1,700 # Best hospice library software (free options included) By **[Dan Edwards](https://yourbooknest.com/contact)**, Founder. A hospice library is unlike any other. It is usually a trolley of large-print and gentle fiction, a few volunteers, and books lent to patients at the bedside. Loans are loose by design - a book that is never returned is not a problem to chase, it is part of the work. So the software has to be light. It should help a volunteer remember what is on the trolley and roughly who has what, without overdue notices, fines, or anything that treats a patient like an account. ## What a hospice library actually needs The collection leans to large-print fiction, gentle and uplifting reads, poetry, spiritual and bereavement support, and a few reference and activity books. Patients turn over quickly, many are too unwell to manage a borrowing account, and some books move with a patient between rooms or never come back. That shapes what matters. - A simple list of what the trolley holds, so volunteers can find a title or an author quickly - A light record of who has a book, with no pressure to reconcile it - No fines, no overdue chasing, no patient sign-ins - Works on a phone or tablet that travels with the trolley A hospice library does not need MARC records, member portals, or the rest of a full library system. The wider case against that machinery is in [what an ILS is and whether a tiny library needs one](/articles/what-is-an-ils-and-does-a-tiny-library-need-one). ## Your Book Nest Your Book Nest is built for tiny, high-trust libraries, which is exactly what a hospice trolley is. You catalogue the books once, and lending a title is two taps. You can try the demo with no account and no card, add a few books, and see the whole flow in a minute. **What it costs.** Free for libraries with under 100 items. Above that, a flat yearly subscription with no per-volunteer fees. **What you get.** A searchable list of the collection, simple checkout and return, and a record of who has each book. Every trolley volunteer can have their own sign-in to the same record, included in the price. There are due dates if you want them and an overdue view, but nothing forces you to use either, which suits a hospice. **The good parts.** Quick for a volunteer to learn, free for a small trolley, works on a tablet that rides with the trolley, and never treats a patient as a debtor. There is no public catalogue, which a hospice does not need. **Best for** a hospice or palliative ward library run by volunteers who want a clean record without the weight of a full system. There is a dedicated writeup in [simple software for hospice libraries](/articles/simple-software-for-hospice-libraries), and a practical guide in [running a book trolley service for patients](/articles/running-a-book-trolley-service-for-patients). ## Librarika Librarika is a free, browser-based library system used by many small libraries. **What it costs.** Free for the core system. **What you get.** Catalogue, circulation, member accounts, and reports in one place, nothing to install. **The not-so-good parts.** It is built around members and overdues, so a hospice ends up ignoring half the features. Cataloguing is manual and support is email only. **Best for** a hospice that wants a full free system and does not mind switching off the parts it will not use. ## Libib Libib is cataloguing software with lending in its paid tier, with strong phone apps. **What it costs.** Free to catalogue up to 5,000 items. Lending needs Pro at about US$9 (source) - £7 | €8 | CA$13 | A$13 | NZ$16 a month, or US$99 (source) - £74 | €86 | CA$138 | A$141 | NZ$171 a year. **What you get.** Fast phone-camera barcode scanning to build the catalogue, and a clean, readable interface that suits older volunteers. **The not-so-good parts.** Lending sits behind the paid plan, and the barcode lookup helps less for the well-worn donated paperbacks a hospice often holds. **Best for** a hospice whose donated stock is mostly modern, scannable paperbacks and that wants the nicest app. ## Google Sheets A shared spreadsheet can hold a small trolley - title, author, large-print yes or no, and who has it. **What it costs.** Free. **The not-so-good parts.** It is all manual, and it gets fiddly to search on a tablet at the bedside. The full picture is in [whether a spreadsheet can run a small library](/articles/can-i-use-a-spreadsheet-to-run-a-small-library). **Best for** a very small trolley, or testing before choosing a tool. ## How to choose for a hospice library The deciding factor is not collection size but tone. The tool must never nag. **You want the lightest possible record.** Your Book Nest's free tier or a spreadsheet. Catalogue the trolley, log a loan when you feel like it, and ignore the rest. **You want a full free system and will tailor it.** Librarika, with the member and overdue features left switched off. **You want barcode scanning to build the catalogue fast.** Libib Pro, if the stock scans. The mistake to avoid is choosing software built for accountability - overdue letters, fines, patron debts - and pointing it at people in palliative care. A hospice library is an act of comfort. The software should disappear into it. ## Q&A **Q: What is the best software for a hospice library?** A: For a volunteer-run hospice trolley, the best fit is software built for tiny, high-trust libraries that does not force overdue chasing or fines. Your Book Nest is built for exactly this and is free under 100 items. Librarika is a free alternative if you are happy to switch off its member and overdue features. **Q: Do hospice libraries need to track due dates?** A: Not really. A hospice lends books for comfort, and a book that stays with a patient is not a loss to recover. Good software lets you record who has a book without setting a due date or sending a reminder, which is the gentler way to run a palliative library. **Q: Can volunteers run hospice library software easily?** A: Yes. The right tool takes a few minutes to learn and runs on a tablet that travels with the trolley. Avoid full library systems aimed at public libraries - they assume members, fines, and overdue notices that a hospice never uses, and the extra complexity only gets in a volunteer's way.