--- title: Is Libib good for lending? The catches for a small library Metadescription: Libib is a superb catalogue, but lending is Pro-only and every extra volunteer login is billed on top. See the true annual cost for a small library. Display description: Libib is an excellent catalogue with lending added on top. It lends well, but every lending feature sits behind the paid Pro tier, and each extra volunteer login is charged per head - so a small library's real cost is higher than the free tier suggests. author: Dan Edwards author_role: Founder author_url: https://danedwardsdeveloper.com author_linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-edwards-developer published: 2026-07-15 --- Token estimate: ~1,800 # Is Libib good for lending? The catches for a small library By **[Dan Edwards](https://yourbooknest.com/contact)**, Founder. Libib is one of the best cataloguing tools a small library can pick up, and the lending side works - real holds, overdue emails, a public catalogue, native apps. The catch is what it costs to reach any of that, and how the bill grows with each volunteer. If you are running a church, mosque or community shelf of 20-50 patrons, and the job is lending rather than cataloguing a personal collection, two things bite. Lending is entirely behind the paid Pro tier, and every extra volunteer login is charged per head. ## What lending actually costs on Libib Libib's free tier catalogues up to 5,000 items for nothing, and it is genuinely good at it. It cannot lend. Check-outs, patrons, due dates, holds and the barcode tools are all Pro-only, so [the real entry price to run a lending library on Libib is Pro](/articles/libib-pricing), not free: US$99 (source) - £74 | €86 | CA$141 | A$143 | NZ$174/year, or US$9 (source) - £7 | €8 | CA$13 | A$13 | NZ$16/month. Then the volunteers. Libib charges per manager login. One volunteer is covered by Pro; each additional one is US$24 (source) - £18 | €21 | CA$34 | A$35 | NZ$42/year, or US$2 (source) - £2 | €2 | CA$3 | A$3 | NZ$4/month. A shelf run by three volunteers pays US$99 (source) - £74 | €86 | CA$141 | A$143 | NZ$174 + US$24 (source) - £18 | €21 | CA$34 | A$35 | NZ$42 + US$24 (source) - £18 | €21 | CA$34 | A$35 | NZ$42 = 147 USD/year. Your Book Nest is a flat £45 | US$60 | €50 | CA$85 | A$85 | NZ$100/year. That covers every volunteer with their own individual login and no per-seat charge, and it includes barcode and label generation - which Libib also gates behind Pro. - Libib, one volunteer: US$99 (source) - £74 | €86 | CA$141 | A$143 | NZ$174/year - Libib, three volunteers: 147 USD/year - Your Book Nest, any number of volunteers: £45 | US$60 | €50 | CA$85 | A$85 | NZ$100/year flat The per-seat difference is the one that widens as you add helpers, and it plays out across the whole field in [what library software really costs](/articles/what-library-software-really-costs). ## You cannot try the lending side without paying There is no way to try Libib's lending workflow before you commit. The free tier only demonstrates cataloguing; to see a check-out, a patron record or a due date you create an account and upgrade to Pro. Your Book Nest's home page is a live demo of the actual lending flow - add a book, give it a copy, lend it to a patron, take it back - with no account and no card. ## What Libib does better - **Catalogue depth.** ISBN and UPC scan-to-add, automatic cover art and metadata, LCCN lookup. Your Book Nest has a plain ISBN field you type by hand. - **Native mobile apps.** iOS and Android with phone-camera scanning. Your Book Nest is responsive web - you read a three-word code off the label and type or scan it, but there is no app. - **A holds queue.** Patrons can place holds from the public site. Your Book Nest has no holds. - **A public catalogue (OPAC).** Libib publishes one patrons can browse from home. Your Book Nest deliberately leaves this out. - **Automatic reminder emails.** Libib sends due-soon and overdue notices today. Your Book Nest does not send patron reminders. - **A reading-social layer.** Reviews, ratings and progress tracking, which Your Book Nest has no equivalent for. Copies work the same in both. Each tracks every physical copy individually under a single title, rather than forcing a duplicate record per copy, so copies are not a reason to choose one over the other. ## How Your Book Nest helps Your Book Nest is circulation-first. Lending, patrons and overdues are the core product, not a paid mode layered on a personal-collection catalogue. Where Libib is a catalogue that grew a lending feature, Your Book Nest is built to lend from the first screen. - Flat £45 | US$60 | €50 | CA$85 | A$85 | NZ$100/year covering every volunteer login, with no per-seat fee - each helper signs in as themselves instead of sharing one password. - Free per-copy three-word codes, like `oak-bat-tree`, printed on labels onto blank Avery sheets - no barcodes to buy and no scanner required. - A browser self-checkout kiosk at an unstaffed desk, where patrons check themselves in and out by typing the copy code, or scanning it with an optional barcode scanner. - Read-only patron logins, so a patron can see their own loans and due dates and nothing more. - A live demo of the whole flow on the home page, with no signup. The trade for a small volunteer library is clear: give up Libib's catalogue depth, public OPAC, reminder emails and mobile apps, and get lending as the core product at a flat price that does not grow with your volunteers. If you want to see how the same shape reads against another priced competitor, [Librarika compared with Your Book Nest](/articles/librarika-vs-your-book-nest-comparison-for-church-and-community-libraries) covers a library run the same way. The home page is a live demo - add a book, lend it, and take it back, with no account and no card. ## Q&A **Q: Can you lend books with the free version of Libib?** A: No. Libib's free tier is cataloguing only - check-outs, patrons, due dates and holds are all part of the paid Pro tier. To run a lending library on Libib you need Pro, so the real cost is the Pro subscription, not free. **Q: Does Libib charge extra for more than one volunteer?** A: Yes. One manager login comes with Pro; each additional volunteer login is billed separately per year. A library run by several volunteers pays for each extra seat on top of the Pro subscription. **Q: Is Libib good for a small lending library?** A: Its catalogue is excellent and its lending features are capable - holds, a public catalogue, automatic overdue emails and native mobile apps. The catches are cost-shaped: every lending feature is behind Pro, extra volunteers are charged per head, and there is no way to try the lending workflow without signing up and upgrading. **Q: What is the difference between Libib and Your Book Nest?** A: Libib is a cataloguing tool with lending added; Your Book Nest is built for lending first. Libib has a deeper catalogue, a public OPAC, reminder emails and mobile apps. Your Book Nest is a flat annual price covering every volunteer, includes free barcode labels, and lets you try the full lending workflow on its home page with no account.