Services · Bibliotecum
Bibliotecum: school library management with QR codes
Who took the missing copy, and since when? A notebook or a spreadsheet cannot answer that, and the request to return books ends up going out in June, late and with no data. With Bibliotecum every copy carries its own QR code and every pupil a library card: lending and returning are two scans, every loan is logged with the date and the name, and the collection stops shrinking year after year. Free up to 30 titles, with unlimited copies and pupils; Pro plan for €50 a month.
Start with the free plan at https://bibliotecum.com (in Spanish): up to 30 titles, with unlimited copies and pupils and nothing to install.
The school library, the notebook and the spreadsheet
A school library rarely has a full-time librarian. It is usually run by a teacher with a few hours allocated to it, who inherits a collection built up from one-off purchases, donations from families and boxes of books that turn up whenever a classroom is cleared out. Starting from there, loans get noted down wherever possible: a notebook on the desk by the entrance, a shared spreadsheet or, quite simply, the memory of whoever is there that day.
The problem shows up when specific questions need answering. How many copies of this title do we have, and how many are out? Who took the missing one, and when? Which books have not come back this school year? A list of titles cannot answer that, because it confuses the title with the physical copy. And so June arrives with a blanket request to families, late, without data and with the feeling that part of the collection is lost every year.
Bibliotecum tackles exactly that. Each physical copy exists separately, with its own code, and the loan is recorded the moment the book goes out, not afterwards. The groundwork is done once, when the catalogue is set up; from then on, lending and returning are two scans.
- Nobody knows how many copies of a title there are or which one is on loan.
- Loans are written down on paper and the handwriting runs into last year's.
- Nobody remembers whether a book was returned or has been in a school bag since November.
- The request to families comes in June, with no date and no proof that the book went out.
- The teacher in charge spends their hours redoing lists instead of on the library.
The catalogue is built from the ISBN
Adding a book means entering its ISBN. Bibliotecum looks it up in Google Books and, if it cannot find the record there, turns to Open Library as a backup source, and fills in the record by itself: title, author, publisher and cover. Anyone who has ever catalogued by hand knows how much that saves, especially with children's and young adult books, where the same title appears from several publishers and in several editions.
The catalogue has a search function, and records are edited and deleted from the same screen. That manual control is what lets you adjust the collection that is specific to a school library: adding an old edition, cataloguing a copy whose ISBN can no longer be read or correcting an author's name, there and then and without depending on anyone.
The catalogue is set up once and lasts for years. For a large collection, the approach that works best is to start with what actually circulates – class readers, young adult fiction, whatever is borrowed every week – and then move on to the rest as it comes across the desk. Within a few weeks the catalogue covers the library's real activity.
- Add books by ISBN, with title, author, publisher and cover filled in automatically.
- Google Books as the main source and Open Library as the backup.
- Catalogue search, with editing and deletion of records.
- Manual editing of any record, to match the edition, title or author to the copy on the shelf.
Copies and library cards: every copy with its own code
Bibliotecum separates the title from the copy, which is the distinction that makes a school library manageable. There may be one copy of a book or fifteen; each one is recorded separately, with its copy number, its status, its condition and a unique QR code. That way you know not just that ‘a copy is on loan’ but which one, to whom and since when, and a damaged copy can be withdrawn without the title disappearing from the catalogue.
The same goes for pupils. When a pupil is added, a library card with their QR code is generated automatically. There is nothing to design and no photos to stick on: the card comes straight out of the app, with the code that will later be scanned at the desk.
The codes have to make it into the physical world, and that is what batch printing is for: sheets of QR labels to stick on the copies and sheets of pupil library cards ready to print on an ordinary printer. It is an afternoon's work with a group of pupils helping, and it is the investment that makes everything else work in seconds afterwards.
- A record for each physical copy, with copy number, status and condition.
- A unique QR code for each copy, printed on sheets of labels.
- Pupil library card with a QR code, generated automatically when the pupil is added.
- Sheets of library cards ready to print and cut out.
- A damaged copy is withdrawn without touching the rest of the catalogue.
Lending in two scans
Lending a book takes two actions: scanning the code on the pupil's library card and scanning the code on the copy. With that, the loan is recorded with its due date, worked out from the number of days the school has set. Scanning is done with a USB barcode scanner of the kind that behaves like a keyboard – it plugs into the library computer and needs no installation – or by typing the code in by hand if no scanner is available at the time.
Returns follow the same route and add a detail that never gets written down on paper: the condition the copy comes back in. When a book arrives with a loose cover or pages torn out, that is recorded there and then and not in the end-of-year count, when there is no longer any way of knowing who had it before. If a pupil needs more time, the loan is renewed, up to a limit on renewals that the school decides.
Reservations deal with the most common scene at break time: the book everyone wants is out on loan. Instead of a waiting list on a Post-it note, the pupil is put down in the system and, when the copy comes back, pupils are notified in the order they asked. The app keeps track of whose turn it is, which also avoids arguments over who asked first.
Alerts, loan periods and the library manager's dashboard
The dashboard shows overdue loans and those due soon, and the same information reaches the library manager by email in a daily summary of where things stand that day. The practical difference is a big one: late returns no longer depend on someone remembering to check a list, and they show up while they can still be sorted out with a reminder in class, instead of turning into a request to families in June.
Each school sets its own loan periods. You configure how many days a loan lasts, how many loans a pupil can have at once, how many renewals are allowed and how many days in advance the due-date reminder should arrive. Four settings that can be changed at any time, because an afternoon's read in early years (Infantil) is not the same as an essay a Bachillerato (upper secondary) student needs for three weeks. Each library sets its own policy on late returns, and Bibliotecum gives it everything it needs to apply it: which pupil has which copy, since when and how many days overdue it is.
The dashboard is the working tool of the library manager – the librarian or the teacher in charge – who has everything on a single screen: catalogue, copies, pupils, loans, reservations and the day's alerts. When one owning body runs several sites, Bibliotecum is multi-site: each school works in its own space, with its copies, pupils, loans and reservations kept separate from everyone else's, and with its own settings.
- Dashboard alerts for overdue loans and upcoming due dates.
- Daily email summary to the library manager.
- Loan days, concurrent loans per pupil, renewals and days of advance notice, configurable for each school.
- The decision on late returns is the school's, with the record of who has each copy and since when.
- Multi-site, with each school's data kept separate from the rest.
Pricing, sign-up and set-up
There is a free plan for up to 30 different titles, with unlimited copies and pupils. It is a permanent plan with no expiry date: it is enough for a complete classroom library or for properly managing the part of the collection that circulates most. The Pro plan costs €50 a month, or €500 a year, which works out at €41.67 a month. Prices do not include VAT.
Schools sign up on a self-service basis, and the app itself guides the set-up in four steps: setting the loan periods, adding the first books by ISBN, adding the pupils and recording the first loan. There is nothing to install: it is a web app and all you need is a computer with a browser. All the product information is at https://bibliotecum.com (in Spanish).
PenwinEdu, the trading name of Baby Penguin, SL, specialises in education – publicly funded private schools (concertados), private schools, universities, business schools and vocational training centres – and Bibliotecum continues to be developed around what a school library needs day to day.
- Free plan: up to 30 different titles, with unlimited copies and pupils.
- Pro plan: €50 a month or €500 a year (€41.67 a month). Prices exclude VAT.
- Web app: nothing to install on the school's computers.
- Self-service sign-up and a four-step set-up guide.
- Product website: https://bibliotecum.com (in Spanish) · Contact: info@penwin.org
Frequently asked questions
What do you need to start using Bibliotecum?
A computer with a browser and an internet connection: Bibliotecum is a web app and nothing is installed at the school. The library manager signs the school up themselves and the app guides them through four steps: loan settings, adding books by ISBN, adding pupils and the first loan. To work comfortably, it is worth adding a USB barcode scanner and an ordinary printer for the QR labels.
How do you lend a book with Bibliotecum?
With two code scans. The library manager scans the QR code on the pupil's library card and then the one on the copy, and the loan is recorded with its due date, worked out from the number of days the school has set. Returns work the same way and let you record the condition the copy comes back in. Codes can also be typed in by hand if there is no scanner available at the time.
Do you need to buy any equipment?
An ordinary USB barcode scanner is enough, the kind that behaves like a keyboard: you plug it into the library computer, point it at the code and the number appears in the right field, with nothing to install. They are inexpensive and any standard model will do. Codes can also be typed in by hand when that is more convenient. For the QR labels on the copies and the sheets of library cards, an ordinary printer is more than enough.
What happens if a pupil does not return a book on time?
Bibliotecum flags it as an overdue loan and shows it on the dashboard, alongside the loans that are due soon. The library manager also receives a daily email summary of where things stand that day, so the list of late returns does not depend on remembering to look at it. What to do about the late return is up to the school, with the information in front of it and in time to sort it out with a reminder in class, rather than with a blanket request in June.
Can I set my own loan periods?
Yes. Each school configures how many days a loan lasts, how many loans a pupil can have at once, how many renewals are allowed and how many days in advance it wants the due-date reminder. They are four settings that can be changed at any time, without having to redo anything already recorded. Renewals, for example, can be limited to just one so that the same title does not stay in the same hands for months.
How much does Bibliotecum cost?
There is a free plan for up to 30 different titles, with unlimited copies and pupils: it works for a classroom library or for keeping the part of the collection that circulates most in order. The Pro plan costs €50 a month, or €500 a year, which works out at €41.67 a month. Prices exclude VAT. Schools sign up on a self-service basis and can start on the free plan.
Does it work for several schools run by the same foundation?
Yes. Bibliotecum is multi-site: each school works in its own space, with its copies, pupils, loans and reservations kept separate from everyone else's, and with its own settings for loan days and renewals. One school cannot see another's activity. For a foundation or a school group with several sites, that lets each library run at its own pace without setting up separate installations.
What happens when two pupils want the same book?
That is where reservations come in. The pupil is put down in the system and, when the copy comes back to the desk, the app notifies pupils in the order they asked, so the queue is kept by Bibliotecum and not by a scrap of paper on the table. If there are several copies of that title, each one has its own record and QR code, so the library manager can see instantly how many are out, which are still available and who has each one and since when.
How do you build the catalogue for a library that already has a collection?
Book by book, and very quickly: you type in the ISBN and Bibliotecum fills in the record by itself – title, author, publisher and cover – by looking it up in Google Books, with Open Library as a backup. With a large collection, the method that works best is to start with what actually circulates, class readers and young adult fiction, and add the rest as it comes across the desk. Within a few weeks the catalogue covers the library's real activity, and it is a job that is done once and lasts for years. It is easily spread over a few afternoons, with a group of pupils helping to add copies and stick on the QR labels.
Let's talk about your school
Email us at info@penwin.org with details of your school, or fill in the contact form, and we'll reply with a specific proposal.