Token estimate: ~3,400

# Your Book Nest

> Simple cloud library software for churches, mosques, and community groups - track books, loans, and patrons. Free demo, no sign-up.

Last updated: 2026-06-22

Your Book Nest is dead-simple cloud library software built for small, volunteer-run community libraries - churches, mosques, study groups, hospices, and community centres where the librarian knows every patron by name. Catalogue books, DVDs, CDs and other items, track who has borrowed what, and see due dates and overdue loans at a glance. Items, copies and loans are fully normalised, so returns and availability are always accurate. Each volunteer librarian signs in with their own login rather than sharing a password, and a single library can have several librarians. Patrons can be given a read-only account to check their own loans and due dates, but never need one - a patron stays just a name until a real person attaches to it. There are no fines, no currency, and no jargon: the whole experience is built to be effortless for non-technical volunteers. Start instantly with a populated demo, no sign-up required.

## What librarians can do

- **Catalogue** - add items - books, DVDs, CDs, board games, equipment, anything a library lends - with titles, authors or makers, and any other details that matter. Each item can hold several physical copies, so a popular title with five copies on the shelf is one catalogue entry with five copies
- **Copies fully normalised** - items, copies and loans are separate records (items → copies → loans), so when a copy goes out or comes back the catalogue always knows exactly which physical copy is on loan and which are available. No guessing, no double-lending, accurate returns every time
- **Loans** - check a copy out to a patron in a couple of clicks, see at a glance who has what and when it is due, and check it back in when it returns. Overdue loans are flagged so nothing quietly disappears
- **Patron management** - add patrons by name - that is all a patron needs to be. No email, no sign-up on their behalf. Optionally give a patron a read-only login so they can check their own loans, but they never need one
- **Several librarians per library** - every volunteer signs in with their own login rather than sharing one password, and a single library can have any number of librarians. One person owns the library; the rest are added as librarians
- **Overview at a glance** - due dates, overdue loans, and what is currently out, all on one screen built for a non-technical volunteer rather than a trained librarian
- **Instant demo** - start with a fully populated demo library and no sign-up, so you can try the whole thing before creating anything of your own

## What patrons can do

- A patron is, by default, just a name in the librarian's catalogue - no account, no login, nothing to set up
- If the librarian provisions one, a patron gets a read-only login (a librarian-set username and password, no email required)
- Signed in, a patron can see their own current loans and due dates - and nothing else
- Patrons never manage their own borrowing, edit the catalogue, or see other patrons. The librarian stays in control; the patron login is a courtesy window, not a self-service portal

## Who it's for

Your Book Nest suits small, high-trust community libraries run by volunteers who know their borrowers by name - the kind of setting where a spreadsheet or a paper ledger is the current system and a full library-management suite would be wildly over the top. The shape of the place matters more than what it lends. Illustrative settings, not a closed list:

- Churches, mosques, temples and other faith communities lending books to their congregation
- Study groups and reading circles sharing a small collection
- Hospices, care homes and community centres with a shelf of books, DVDs and CDs for residents and visitors
- Clubs and societies lending equipment, board games or tools to members
- Any group of roughly 20 to 50 borrowers where one volunteer keeps track of who has what

Less of a fit:

- Public or academic libraries needing MARC cataloguing, an OPAC, inter-library loans, or professional library standards
- Anywhere that charges fines or processes payments for borrowing - Your Book Nest deliberately has no fines and no currency
- Commercial rental or lending businesses where money changes hands per loan
- Very large collections or borrower lists that have outgrown a single volunteer keeping an eye on everything

## What Your Book Nest is NOT

- No fines and no currency - lending is free, and the app never tracks money owed
- No MARC records or professional cataloguing standards - items carry the few details a community library actually needs
- No public catalogue (OPAC) - the collection is not browsable by the unauthenticated public, which keeps the moderation load at zero
- No per-category borrowing limits, holds, or reservation queues
- No patron self-service - patrons cannot borrow, renew or reserve on their own; the librarian does the lending
- No marketing or reminder emails - the only email Your Book Nest sends is transactional (account verification and billing)
- Not for large institutional libraries - the moat is simplicity, not feature count

## Larger libraries and custom limits

Your Book Nest is built for small libraries, and the free plan is sized to match: up to 50 patrons and 100 items. The paid plan raises that to 500 patrons and 5000 items. These are deliberate limits chosen to keep the product simple, not technical ceilings - if your library is larger or sits between the plans, email Dan directly at dan@yourbooknest.com rather than assuming it will not fit. Bigger and non-standard setups are welcome.

## Pricing

A free plan covers small libraries with full lending features. One paid plan raises the limits with full access to everything. No fines, no per-loan fees, no setup fees, no contract. Cancel anytime.

Start instantly with a fully populated demo - no sign-up and no credit card required.

**Paid plan pricing:**

| Currency | Price |
|----------|----------|
| GBP | £79/month |
| USD | $109/month |
| EUR | €89/month |
| CAD | CA$149/month |
| AUD | A$149/month |
| NZD | NZ$179/month |

## Links

- Website: https://yourbooknest.com/
- Pricing: https://yourbooknest.com/pricing
- About: https://yourbooknest.com/about
- Contact: https://yourbooknest.com/contact

## Author

**Dan Edwards** - Founder

Dan Edwards is a software engineer living in Aberdeen, Scotland, and the founder of Your Book Nest. He writes about running small community libraries, lending workflows, and simple software for volunteers.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-edwards-developer

Personal site: https://danedwardsdeveloper.com

## Static pages

- About Your Book Nest: https://yourbooknest.com/about (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/about.md)
- Contact: https://yourbooknest.com/contact (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/contact.md)
- Terms and conditions: https://yourbooknest.com/terms-and-conditions (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/terms-and-conditions.md)
- Product roadmap for Your Book Nest: https://yourbooknest.com/roadmap (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/roadmap.md)

## Help articles series

1. Getting started: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/getting-started-with-your-book-nest (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/getting-started-with-your-book-nest.md)

## Articles

- Why is library software so expensive?: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/why-is-library-software-so-expensive (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/why-is-library-software-so-expensive.md)
- Free software for board game libraries: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/free-software-for-board-game-libraries (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/free-software-for-board-game-libraries.md)
- Best church library software (free options included): https://yourbooknest.com/articles/best-church-library-software (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/best-church-library-software.md)
- Simple software for hospice libraries - Free for under 100 books: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/simple-software-for-hospice-libraries (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/simple-software-for-hospice-libraries.md)
- Equipment Checkout Software for Small Organisations: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/equipment-checkout-software-for-small-organisations (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/equipment-checkout-software-for-small-organisations.md)
- Librarika vs YourBookNest Comparison for Church and Community Libraries: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/librarika-vs-your-book-best-comparison-for-church-and-community-libraries (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/librarika-vs-your-book-best-comparison-for-church-and-community-libraries.md)
- YourBookNest Features: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/features (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/features.md)
- Can I use a spreadsheet to run a small library?: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/can-i-use-a-spreadsheet-to-run-a-small-library (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/can-i-use-a-spreadsheet-to-run-a-small-library.md)
- Can I use Airtable to manage library loans?: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/can-i-use-airtable-to-manage-library-loans (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/can-i-use-airtable-to-manage-library-loans.md)
- Can I use LibraryThing to lend books?: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/can-i-use-librarything-to-lend-books (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/can-i-use-librarything-to-lend-books.md)
- Can I use Notion as a library catalogue?: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/can-i-use-notion-as-a-library-catalogue (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/can-i-use-notion-as-a-library-catalogue.md)
- Do you need a barcode scanner for a small library?: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/do-you-need-a-barcode-scanner-for-a-small-library (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/do-you-need-a-barcode-scanner-for-a-small-library.md)
- How to catalogue a small library without MARC: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-catalogue-a-small-library-without-marc (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-catalogue-a-small-library-without-marc.md)
- How to move your small library off a spreadsheet: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-move-your-small-library-off-a-spreadsheet (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-move-your-small-library-off-a-spreadsheet.md)
- How to run a book club lending library: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-run-a-book-club-lending-library (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-run-a-book-club-lending-library.md)
- How to run a lending library with volunteers: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-run-a-lending-library-with-volunteers (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-run-a-lending-library-with-volunteers.md)
- How to run a Sunday school lending shelf: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-run-a-sunday-school-lending-shelf (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-run-a-sunday-school-lending-shelf.md)
- How to set up a church library from scratch: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-set-up-a-church-library-from-scratch (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-set-up-a-church-library-from-scratch.md)
- How to set up a mosque library: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-set-up-a-mosque-library (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-set-up-a-mosque-library.md)
- How to track who borrowed what in a small library: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-track-who-borrowed-what-in-a-small-library (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/how-to-track-who-borrowed-what-in-a-small-library.md)
- Library software for a care home: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/library-software-for-a-care-home (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/library-software-for-a-care-home.md)
- Library software for a church library: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/library-software-for-a-church-library (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/library-software-for-a-church-library.md)
- Library software for a community centre: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/library-software-for-a-community-centre (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/library-software-for-a-community-centre.md)
- Library software for a mosque library: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/library-software-for-a-mosque-library (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/library-software-for-a-mosque-library.md)
- Library software for a small school: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/library-software-for-a-small-school (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/library-software-for-a-small-school.md)
- Running a book trolley service for patients: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/running-a-book-trolley-service-for-patients (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/running-a-book-trolley-service-for-patients.md)
- Running a shared library for a study group: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/study-group-shared-library (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/study-group-shared-library.md)
- Tool library software for a library of things: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/tool-library-software-for-a-library-of-things (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/tool-library-software-for-a-library-of-things.md)
- Toy library software for a small toy library: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/toy-library-software-for-a-small-toy-library (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/toy-library-software-for-a-small-toy-library.md)
- What is an ILS and does a tiny library need one?: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/what-is-an-ils-and-does-a-tiny-library-need-one (Markdown: https://yourbooknest.com/articles/what-is-an-ils-and-does-a-tiny-library-need-one.md)