Archon’s public interface always shows the most current information because it is updated automatically when archival staff add or edit records using an ‘administrative interface.’ (MARC and EAD records are similarly updated when a staff member makes any changes.)

Once information has been entered, staff members need do nothing more to make the information instantly accessible, searchable, and browsable.

Archon has an extensive feature list, too dense to include here. To see what this application is capable of, visit the Archon website.

It’s main features include:

- Free and open source
- Represents bibliographic collections — library catalogs and such — in an easily searchable, highly remixable web-based format
- Leverages WordPress to offer rich content management features for all a library’s content

Other features include:

- Faceted browsing
- Ajax-empowered interface with native jQuery support
- 100% customizable interface via the Drupal template system
- Ability to remove search limiters
- Saved searches
- Integrated renewals, holds placement, and fine payment
- Ability to customize the user experience via the administrative control panel
- Ability to create custom functionality via a Drupal sub-module
- Because SOPAC depends on Locum to connect to your integrated library system, it has the potential to work with any ILS.

Core software features include:

- Free, open-source software built to run on open standards like PHP, MySQL, and Apache.

- Enables both instructors and library staff to manage reserve lists.

- Allows users to upload files, link to online materials, and fax documents directly into the system as PDFs.

- Integrates with the library’s catalog, providing convenient access to all course materials, physical and electronic, in one place.

- Allows instructors to reactivate reserve lists for classes they’ve taught before.

- Can be deployed in single-library or multi-library environments.

- Is “skinnable” for customized look and feel.

- Can be implemented as a completely self-service system where instructors manage all of their own reserves materials, or as a full-service system where library staff manage everything for the instructors, or as a combination of the two.

- Includes other features such as team-teaching support, course cross-listings, item sorting, item annotation, and the ability to export reserve lists to courseware, such as Blackboard.

Try out the demo version of ReservesDirect.

Among its current features are:

- Built-in OpenURL resolver
- 2-click find workflow
- Ability to locally index collections
- Web-based administration
- 3-tiered caching system (to improve speed of searches)
- Customizable user interface

Try the Oregon State University demo here.

- Catalog Records
- Locally Cached Journals
- Digital Library Items
- Institutional Repository
- Institutional Bibliography
- Other Library Collections and Resources

VuFind is completely modular so you can implement just the basic system, or all of the components. And since it’s open source, you can modify the modules to best fit your need or you can add new modules to extend your resource offerings.

Find out how Libx differs from other library catalogue tools.

LibX main features include:

- Interactive Build System (“Edition Builder”)
- Toolbar & right-click context menu
- Adaptive and user-configurable context menus
- OpenURL support
- Google Scholar Support (The ‘Magic Button’)
- Web Localization via Embedded Cues
- Autolinking
- Off-campus access via EZProxy or WAM
- Support for CiteULike
- Support for COinS
- Support for xISBN
- Show/Hide Hotkey

Blacklight uses solr, an enterprise-scale index for its search engine. Blacklight features faceted browsing, relevance based searching (with the ability to locally control the relevancy algorithms), bookmarkable items, permanent URLs for every item, user tagging of items.

Try out the demo version here.

You can try out a software demo here, prior to downloading and installing the program.

Key features include:

- Community contributed content
- Built in discussion functionality
- Natural language tags and content links
- Content management
- User access control and workflow
- and more…