---
title: Best mosque library software (free options included)
Metadescription: Compare the best mosque library software for a volunteer-run masjid library. Free and low-cost ways to track who borrowed which Islamic books.
Display description: Most masjid libraries are run by one volunteer and a shelf of donated books. You do not need an enterprise system. You need a simple way to know who has which book.
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: ~2,200

# Best mosque library software (free options included)

By **[Dan Edwards](https://yourbooknest.com/contact)**, Founder.

Most masjid libraries grow the same way. Someone donates a box of Qur'an translations and tafsir, the committee adds a shelf near the entrance, and members borrow on trust after Jummah. Nobody writes anything down, and slowly the good books stop coming back.

You do not need enterprise library software to fix that. You need something simple that records who borrowed which book and when it is due.

## What a mosque library actually needs

The collection is mostly Qur'an and tafsir, hadith, fiqh and seerah, Arabic learning, Islamic history, and children's books. Lending is on trust to people the librarian already knows by name. There are no fines.

So the software needs to do three things and stay out of the way.

-   Record who borrowed each book and when it is due back
-   Let you find a title quickly, including transliterated Arabic titles and author names
-   Work on whatever device is at the library desk, with no install and no barcode scanner

Everything else is noise. A masjid library with 300 books does not need MARC records, Dewey numbers, or fine calculations. Those belong to the full library systems that, as covered in [what an ILS is and whether a tiny library needs one](/articles/what-is-an-ils-and-does-a-tiny-library-need-one), are built for a different kind of library.

## Your Book Nest

Your Book Nest is built for exactly this size of library. The focus is the essentials - who has what, and when it is due.

You can open the demo right now with no account and no card, add a few books, and lend one to a member to see how it works.

**What it costs.** Free for libraries with under 100 items. Above that, a flat yearly subscription with no per-member or per-volunteer charges.

**What you get.** Checkout and returns, a record of who borrowed each book, due dates, and an overdue list. It runs in any browser on a phone, tablet, or the library computer. Up to 20 volunteers can each sign in to the same library, on the free tier as well as paid, and a member can be given an optional read-only sign-in to browse the catalogue and see their own loans from home.

**The good parts.** Dead simple to learn, free for a small collection, no barcode scanner needed, and built for high-trust communities where the librarian knows the members. There is no catalogue on the open web - only members the librarian gives a sign-in can browse from home, which suits a masjid library better than a public page it has to moderate.

**Best for** a masjid library of 50 to 500 books where the committee wants something a new volunteer can run after a five-minute handover. There is a fuller writeup in [library software for a mosque library](/articles/library-software-for-a-mosque-library), and a step-by-step in [how to set up a mosque library](/articles/how-to-set-up-a-mosque-library).

## TinyCat (LibraryThing)

TinyCat is built for small libraries and is used by hundreds of religious libraries, including mosques and synagogues. You catalogue books in LibraryThing, and TinyCat turns that into a searchable circulation system.

**What it costs.** Roughly US$3 (source) - £2 | €3 | CA$4 | A$4 | NZ$5 a month for volunteer-run libraries, rising with collection size.

**What you get.** A full circulation system with due dates, member accounts, optional barcode support, and an online catalogue members can search from home. LibraryThing imports catalogue records, so you type less.

**The not-so-good parts.** Two systems to learn rather than one, and the catalogue lookups lean towards mainstream English titles, so Arabic-script and transliterated works often need manual entry.

**Best for** a larger masjid library that wants members to search the catalogue from home and does not mind a steeper setup.

## Librarika

Librarika is a free, browser-based library system. Plenty of community and religious libraries run on it.

**What it costs.** Free for the core system. They earn from larger schools and organisations.

**What you get.** Catalogue, circulation, member accounts, an online catalogue, and reports - all in one place, nothing to install.

**The not-so-good parts.** Cataloguing is mostly manual, there is less hand-holding than a paid tool, and support is email only.

**Best for** a mosque whose budget is genuinely zero and that does not mind learning as it goes.

## Libib

Libib is cataloguing software that added lending in its paid tier. It is popular for home and small organisation libraries.

**What it costs.** Free to catalogue up to 5,000 items. Lending, due dates, and member accounts need the Pro plan 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.** Phone-camera barcode scanning that fills in book details automatically, plus a clean, modern interface.

**The not-so-good parts.** The barcode lookup is the main draw, and it adds little for older or imported Islamic texts that have no scannable barcode. Lending sits behind the paid plan.

**Best for** a mosque with a lot of modern paperbacks that scan cleanly, where the librarian wants a polished app.

## Google Sheets

A shared spreadsheet is a natural starting point for a brand-new shelf. Columns for title, author, borrowed by, and due date will carry a very small collection.

**What it costs.** Free.

**The not-so-good parts.** You build and maintain everything by hand, there is no overdue prompt, and it gets unwieldy past about 50 books. The full picture is in [whether you can run a small library on a spreadsheet](/articles/can-i-use-a-spreadsheet-to-run-a-small-library).

**Best for** testing whether the library will be used at all before committing to a tool.

## How to choose for a mosque library

Match the tool to the shelf, not to the biggest library you can imagine.

**Under 50 books and just starting.** A spreadsheet or Your Book Nest's free tier. Do not overthink it.

**50 to 500 books, run by volunteers.** Your Book Nest or Librarika. Both are free at this size and quick to learn.

**You want members to search from home.** Your Book Nest covers this with read-only member sign-ins the librarian hands out. Librarika or TinyCat if the catalogue must be public on the open web - most masjid libraries skip that to avoid the upkeep.

**Budget is zero, forever.** Librarika or Your Book Nest's free tier.

The biggest mistake a masjid committee makes is picking software built for a university library and then training every new volunteer for an hour before they can lend a book. Start with the simplest tool that records who has what, and move up only if you ever outgrow it.

## Q&A

**Q: What is the best free software for a mosque library?**
A: For a volunteer-run masjid library, the strongest free options are Your Book Nest (free under 100 items) and Librarika (free for the core system). Both run in a browser, need no install, and record who borrowed each book and when it is due. A shared spreadsheet also works for a very small shelf.

**Q: Do mosque libraries need barcode scanners?**
A: No. A barcode scanner saves time only in a busy library checking out dozens of books an hour. A masjid library lending a handful of books a week is faster typing the title. Several good tools support a scanner if you want one later, but it is never required.

**Q: How do you track who borrowed a book at the mosque?**
A: Record the title, the borrower's name, and a due date each time a book leaves the shelf. Simple library software does this in two taps and shows you an overdue list automatically, which is more reliable than memory or a paper notebook that lives on the desk.

**Q: Can the same software handle Arabic and transliterated titles?**
A: Yes. Any tool that lets you type a title and author by hand will store transliterated Arabic works and author names. Tools that rely on barcode or catalogue lookup are weaker here, because many Islamic texts are not in those databases and need manual entry anyway.