Product	Company	New	Installed
Alma	Clarivate	85	2835
WorldShare Management Services	OCLC	39	817
FOLIO -- EBSCO Information Services	EBSCO	35	343
FOLIO -- Index Data	Index Data	13	41

State of the Industry

The library technology industry continues to consolidate, with economic impact concentrated in a small number of companies. Public companies have gained a stronger presence. Clarivate's (NYSE: CLVT) broad range of products and services holds an outsized role, spanning both academic and public technologies in addition to its content solutions. Constellation Software, Inc., (TSE: CSU), owns SirsiDynix and five other mid-sized companies. OCLC and Equinox Open Library Initiative both operate as non-profit organizations. Private equity firms, which once held a dominant role, have seen a diminishing presence, with many portfolio companies finding exits in public companies. New private equity transactions include Equip Capital's investment in TIND, Evergreen Services Group acquisition of Library Market, a company specializing in library website and events technologies, and Bloom Equity Partners extending its investment in Soutron to acquire Auto-Graphics. The number of privately owned companies has diminished. The Library Corporation has been owned and managed by its founder since 1974. ByWater Solutions, Biblionix, and Axiell are privately owned.

The library technology industry can be considered stable, with little risk for major business transitions that might bring disruption. The longstanding process of consolidation has largely run its course, with only a small number of companies remaining that might be acquisition candidates. Chances for mergers among the top tier companies are highly unlikely as are the possibilities for major involvement by the major global tech giants.

The top tier

Clarivate

Clarivate, a publicly traded company, with total revenue of $2,455.2 million in 2025, includes three major businesses, Academia and Government, Intellectual Property, and Life Sciences and Healthcare. Matti Shem Tov has served as Chief Executive Officer since August 2024. Clarivate recently reported its consideration of divesting its Life Sciences and Healthcare business.

Academic and Government, led by Bar Veinstein as its president, includes Web of Science, ProQuest, as well as the library technology products. Yoel Goldenberg was appointed in January 2026 as a Senior Vice President to head the library software group that includes the portfolio of products associated with Ex Libris and Innovative.

Clarivate continues to strengthen its position as the leading software provider for public and academic libraries.

The Ex Libris suite of products, including Alma and Primo, gained a leading position among academic and national libraries over the last decade. Alma, introduced in 2011, gained 85 new subscribers, increasing its total installations to 2,835. Following the rollout of a new staff interface for Alma, recent enhancements include an AI metadata assistant and many other feature improvements.

Consistent with strategic initiatives to increase access to collection materials among library systems and consortia, Clarivate has emphasized resource sharing technologies. An additional 116 organizations signed for Rapido and RapidILL resource sharing products, now with 1,203 installations. Rapido Consortial Borrowing was introduced to enable resource sharing among libraries using any ILS product. SearchOhio implemented this product to support borrowing between its public library members and OhioLINK. INN-Reach, which supports many large-scale consortia, has been modernized with new interface options, though not actively marketed.

This year Clarivate launched Alma Specto for managing and promoting digital collections with AI-based capabilities for creating and enriching metadata. Library Open Workflows, announced in January 2025, enables non-programmers to create component integrations through a visual interface.

The British Library selected Alma as part of its recovery from its October 2024 ransomware event and completed its implementation in January 2026. Other major selections include OhioLINK, including the academic libraries in Ohio, and the University of London Research Services. LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network announced its selection of Alma in March 2026.

Clarivate made gains in the public library sector through new sales of Polaris, ongoing support for Sierra, and through development and deployment of the Vega LX suite of patron-centered services. Sierra receives ongoing support and development and remains in use by hundreds of libraries. Clarivate actively markets Polaris, usually paired with Vega. Polaris has expanded beyond its well established North American presence into multiple international regions, including Singapore and Australia. The company has focused considerable development energy on Vega since it adds modern user experience for both Sierra and Polaris. Vega Discover was selected by 165 libraries, increasing its total installations to 333.

Clarivate has embraced AI technologies across all its businesses. Its Academic AI Platform supports a strategy to harness these technologies while delivering reliable content. Services based on this platform include Research Assistant components for Web of Science, Primo, and Summon as well as EndNote 2025 that incorporates AI-based tools for management and use of citations.

OCLC

OCLC, a non-profit member governed organization, offers diverse services benefiting the library community, only some of which fall within the scope of this report.

Total library services revenue in 2025 was $252.7 million, an increase from $238.5 million the previous year. Higher expenses resulted in an operating loss of $7.3 million. (2025 OCLC Financial report) Consistent with an industry trend of downsizing, OCLC reported 1,139 personnel employed at the end of 2025, down from 1,334 last year, a 14.6 percent reduction. In July 2025 OCLC implemented a reduction in workforce that impacted about 80 individuals in its Ohio headquarters (Reported by WCMH Columbus). OCLC cited factors including AI, shift in skill requirements, and changes in libraries.

OCLC has employed AI technologies to supplement its other processes to enhance the quality of WorldCat records. The organization enhanced its resource sharing services such as Tipasa, as well as its other analytics and collection development tools.

WorldShare Management Services, a library services platform used mostly by academic libraries, gained 39 new subscriptions, less than the 64 reported last year. New WMS sites include the Taipei National University of the Arts, University of Chichester, University of Glasgow, Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok, University of Zaragoza (Spain), Rider University, and Oral Roberts University. The WISPALS consortium selected WMS as a shared system for the libraries of its 11 technical college members. The country of Colombia launched a new discovery catalog based on WorldCat including the holdings of more than 40 libraries. OCLC reported 817 total installations of WMS.

Wise, its strategic product for public libraries came into OCLC's portfolio through its 2013 acquisition of the Dutch company HKA. This patron-centered library management system dominates public libraries in The Netherlands. OCLC completed a new agreement where Wise will be the basis for a New Unified Library System in the Netherlands serving 102 libraries. Wise was introduced to public libraries in the United States in 2018, saw some initial interest, though 5 of the 9 early implementor sites have since selected other solutions.

Metadata from the CloudLibrary digital content service acquired from Bibliotheca in 2024 was incorporated into WorldCat this year, providing streamlined access for subscribers.

In defense of its WorldCat bibliographic database, OCLC initiated a lawsuit in April 2025 against Baker & Taylor and Bridgeall Libraries (2:25-cv-00309-EAS-SCS). The lawsuit alleges misuse of WorldCat data for the BTCat cataloging utility and that the defendants enticed WorldCat subscribers to violate contract terms and policies. The case against Baker & Taylor concluded with that company's bankruptcy as did the availability of BTCat. The case against Bridgeall Libraries remains active, despite the sale of collectionHQ to Valsoft Corporation in 2025. OCLC legal action against Anna's Archive for unauthorized harvesting of WorldCat data (2:24-cv-00144-MHW-EPD) was concluded through a default judgment ordered in February 2026.

Open Source systems and Services

Systems and services based on open source software continue as a routine part of the library technology industry. Although proprietary products dominate the integrated library system and library services platform categories, open-source options represent important competition and present an alternative path for libraries interested in more control and flexibility. The business model relies on multiyear contracts for subscription fees for support, hosting, and professional services rather than software licenses. Many of the offerings based on open source software may also include proprietary components, such as add-on modules, knowledge bases, and discovery indexes. The open source movement does not obviate involvement with vendors, though it provides flexibility in the choice of service providers.

Each of the open source solutions appeals to specific types of libraries. FOLIO finds use mostly among larger academic and national libraries. Koha has been implemented mostly by public libraries, schools, and smaller academic institutions. Initially developed in 1999 in New Zealand, constant development over a span of 26 years has resulted in an ILS with features comparable with the proprietary products. Evergreen was created by the Georgia Public Library System for their PINES consortium of public libraries and has since been implemented by many other consortia. Aspen Discovery is a discovery interface developed especially for public libraries as a variant of the Pika interface developed by the Marmot Library Network in Colorado. This open source discovery interface works with all major proprietary and open source ILS products.

FOLIO ranks as a serious competitor as a library services platform for academic libraries. As an open source solution, FOLIO can be implemented independently by libraries or in partnership with a support vendor, such as EBSCO Information Services or Index Data.

EBSCO Information Services

EBSCO Information Services, a subsidiary of EBSCO Industries, a holding company owned by the J.T. Stephens family, offers proprietary information products, subscription services, and technology platforms. EBSCO Industries recently solidified its leadership, naming Bryson Stephens as its new CEO. Bryson Stephens, grandson of company founder Elton B. Stephens, was named Acting CEO following the retirement of David Walker in 2025. Elton B. Stephens III now serves as Chair of the Board.

EBSCO Information Services is well established as a provider of authoritative subject databases (EBSCOhost), EBSCO Discovery Service which provides access to a broad range of scholarly literature. The company emphasizes open infrastructure, interoperability, linked data, and invests in open source software.

The company saw a major leadership change with the departure of Annie Callanan in August 2025. Callanan became Chief Executive Officer in August 2024. No public statements were made regarding her separation from the company. Allen Powell, the company's Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, was appointed Interim CEO, and later in May 2026 as permanent CEO.

EBSCO, in partnership with a community of libraries and other vendors, has been involved with the development of FOLIO since 2016 and has become the leading vendor in providing hosting and support services. EBSCO reports 343 libraries subscribing to its hosting and support services for EBSCO FOLIO, a comprehensive resource management and discovery package that includes the open source modules, EBSCO Discovery Service, and other proprietary components.

The Library of Congress completed its implementation of FOLIO to replace many legacy systems this year. This project reflected the capacity of FOLIO to handle one of the largest and most complex libraries globally.

EBSCO signed 35 contracts for its FOLIO services in 2026. Recent libraries selecting EBSCO FOLIO include The University of Notre Dame and The University of Kansas; Columbia University completed its migration.

FOLIO also experienced some recent setbacks. The University System of Georgia Libraries selected EBSCO FOLIO and the OpenRS resource sharing platform in April 2023 to replace Alma for the statewide GALILEO consortium of 86 libraries across 26 educational institutions. The planned migration to FOLIO in December 2025 did not take place and GALILEO will continue with Alma. Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile migrated from Alma to FOLIO in 2022 and in March 2026 Clarivate announced its return to Alma.

EBSCO introduced AI enhanced search and natural language search for EBSCO Discovery Service and its full text databases. The company expanded involvement with link data through EBSCO Scholarly Graph framework.

Index Data

Index Data also provides services for FOLIO and other open source applications for libraries. The company has been involved with the FOLIO community from its inception, contracting with EBSCO to develop its underlying technical infrastructure. Index Data offers its own services for FOLIO, now supporting 41 organizations, 13 of which were signed in 2025. The company has also been instrumental in the development of the ReShare resource sharing platform. The National Library of Australia contracted with Index Data in the development of a new discovery service aggregating 700 million content items from over 1,000 cultural and educational institutions.

ByWater Solutions

ByWater Solutions, founded in 2009 with 4 employees, has grown to be the largest company supporting Koha and Aspen Discovery, now with a workforce of 52. The company is privately owned and managed by its founders, Brendan Gallager (Chief Executive Officer) and Nathan Curulla (Chief Revenue Officer). This year Jessica Zairo was promoted to Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Elise Aiello to Marketing Executive.

The company signed 55 support agreements representing 126 facilities for Koha in 2025, increasing total customers to 1,710. Major libraries completing migrations to Koha through ByWater Solutions include the Akron-Summit County Public Library (1.2 million items, 538,000 residents, 16 branches), the Walla Walla County Rural Library District (7 branches) and the Atlantic County Library System in New Jersey (13 branches plus the Atlantic Cape Community College).

ByWater Solutions began supporting Aspen Discovery in 2019, acquiring Turning Leaf Technologies led by Mark Noble, the product's principal developer. Aspen Discovery strengthens ByWater Solutions' offering for public libraries by providing a much more sophisticated patron experience than the native Koha catalog. Almost all the public libraries recently contracting for Koha through ByWater Solutions also implemented Aspen Discovery. ByWater Solutions reports that it currently supports Aspen Discovery in 792 libraries. Facing aggressive attacks on its customer's public interfaces, ByWater Solutions strengthened its infrastructure to mitigate the impact.

Grove for Libraries

In late 2024 Mark Noble and Jordan Fields separated from ByWater Solutions and together founded Grove for Libraries, as an independent company focused on development and support of Aspen Discovery and the LiDA mobile app. The company currently supports about 140 libraries on Aspen Discovery.

Open Fifth

ByWater Solutions acquired equity in PTFS Europe in October 2023 following the retirement of two of its founders. PTFS Europe changed its name to Open Fifth in March 2025. Jonathan Field, also a cofounder, now serves as its Managing Director. Open Fifth reported 26 employees. Open Fifth and ByWater Solutions remain separate companies, but cooperate in multiple initiatives, including the development of new tools for SMTP and SIP administration.

Open Fifth provides services for Koha, Aspen Discovery, and the Metabase business intelligence and analytics tool, primarily for libraries in the United Kingdom and Europe. Its clients include academic, public, and special libraries such as those in hospitals in the National Health Service.

Equinox Open Library Initiative

Equinox Open Library Initiative provides support services for Evergreen, Koha, Aspen Discovery, and other open source products. The non-profit organization is led by Lisa Carlucci as its Executive Director. Equinox supports 934 libraries using Evergreen, including 8 new agreements made in 2025; it signed 2 new agreements for Koha (49 total), 6 agreements for Aspen Discovery (279 total).

Equinox partnered with its customers to develop new enhancements for Evergreen, including improvements in usability and accessibility, single sign-on authentication, and integration of online patron registration capabilities. This year Equinox completed research for King County Library Services investigating the impact of linked data and BIBFRAME for public libraries.

TIND

TIND, founded in 2013, TIND provides development, hosting and support for a suite of products based on the Invenio open source platform created by CERN in Switzerland. The company received a major infusion of capital in July 2025 through the Nordic private equity firm Equip Capital. The founders and management remain minority owners. Alexander Nietzold serves as Chief Executive Officer.

Major new clients selecting TIND products this year include Duke University, Florida State University, Florida International University, the University of Georgia, and George Mason University. The Center for Research Libraries implemented the TIND ILS to support its Print Archives Preservation Registry.

Media Flex

MediaFlex, founded in 1985, provides a wide range of services for libraries such as library supplies, furniture, and shelving displays. The company operates in Canada under the name Bibliofiche Library Services. MediaFlex provides automation services through its support for the open source OPALS integrated library system along with the associated barcode readers and labels. Option modules are available for textbook and equipment management. OPALS has been widely implemented by school libraries and districts, though it is also used in diverse types of small libraries.

The CSI family

SirsiDynix

SirsiDynix operated in 2025 under new ownership. Harris, one of the operating companies of Constellation Software, Inc. acquired SirsiDynix from ICV Partners in December 2024. The move puts the company into a permanent and stable business environment. Unlike private equity firms which usually sell their portfolio companies after a limited duration, businesses acquired with the CSI network are never divested, but operate indefinitely under guidelines established for financial management and technology operations and development. This approach prioritizes long-term business development rather than shorter term valuations and profits. CSI companies operate under strict financial discipline and tend to perform incremental development to meet documented customer needs.

CSI currently owns almost 1,000 businesses across its five operating companies. All are involved in technology and fall within many vertical industry sectors. In almost all cases the companies operate independently from each other, even when they belong to the same vertical market.

Companies in the library sector under the CSI umbrella include Softlink, BiblioCommons, EnvisionWare, Sophia, Baratz, and now SirsiDynix, making it one of the largest investors in the industry.

In its first full year under the ownership of Harris, SirsiDynix continued along the paths established under ICV. Following the acquisition, long-time CEO Bill Davidson left that role. Mike Nehren, its former CFO was named General Manager for SirsiDynix, reflecting the CSI expectations for financial rigor.

SirsiDynix, under ICV, launched BLUEcloud Accelerate, an initiative to advance progress on the completion of its BLUEcloud suite. This initiative continues, under a new roadmap that prioritizes meaningful enhancements. Development of BLUEcloud Discovery is underway as the company's next-generation discovery solution intended to succeed Enterprise. Delivering this product will be critical for SirsiDynix given increased library priorities on patron-facing solutions.

SirsiDynix reported 25 contracts for Symphony and total installations of 2,077. Installations have been gradually decreasing since 2016. Horizon continues to be supported, though not actively marketed and is currently used in 597 libraries. Horizon hit its peak in 2004 with 1,719 installations. EOS.Web, the company's product for special and small academic libraries, saw 8 new sales and total installations of 700, down from its 2014 apex of 1,137. The company reported 10 contracts for CloudSource, its discovery and access platform with an emphasis on open access and OER content. The company did not report the number of personnel employed.

BiblioCommons

BiblioCommons, part of Volaris since 2020, specializes in patron-facing products and services for public libraries. Its products integrate with any of the major ILS products. Marty Tarle, a co-founder of the company, has served as General Manager since July 2023.

Recent developments center around a “One-Click Experience” initiative to substantially simplify patron experiences to discover, explore, and access library resources and services. BiblioCommons launched an initiative to explore use cases for AI in collaboration with some of its partner libraries. Use cases identified include an “ask the library” conversational tool, AI-powered discovery that returns title suggestions in a conversational format, and using AI to summarize reviews.

This year, The Toronto Public Library, the largest in Canada, implemented the full BiblioCommons Digital Experience Platform comprised of BiblioCore, BiblioWeb, BiblioApps, and BiblioEvents. Other libraries adopting this suite included Napa County (CA) Library, Fort Vancouver Regional Library District in Washington, and Guelph Public Library in Canada. New subscribers to BiblioCore include Lake County(CA) Public Library, Poudre River Public Library District in Colorado, Jersey City Free Public Library in New Jersey, and Cooperative Computer Services consortium in Illinois.

Sophia

Sophia (formerly PrimaSoft), a company operating primarily in Brazil, was acquired by Volaris in 2018. Its Sophia Library ILS has been implemented by academic, public and school libraries. This year the company reported 8 new contracts for the Sophia ILS and 1,031 installations. Recent developments include a new Institutional Repository module, support for authentication using Google or Microsoft Azure credentials, and new APIs for interoperability with external systems.

Baratz

Baratz, based in Madrid, became part of Total Specific Solutions, an operating company of CSI, in September 2021. The company develops and supports Absys, an integrated library system used primarily by public and special libraries in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries. Other major products include ODA, a discovery platform for access to a library's print and digital resources, and Digibís, a digital content management system. Recent initiatives include migration of libraries using Absys to their cloud-hosted solution, improvements to the mOpac catalog interface for Absys, and improved support for digital lending.

Serving Public Libraries

The Library Corporation

The Library Corporation, co-founded by Annette Murphy in 1972, continues as the longest-running founder owned and managed company. The family also owns Tech Logic, specializing in RFID technologies and automated material handling, operated as a separate company. Contrary to industry trends, the company has chosen to remain under private ownership rather than turning to external investors. The company employs 123 personnel, 30 of whom are librarians.

TLC offers two integrated library systems. Library.Solution, designed for mid-sized public libraries and school districts, saw 7 new contracts. Total installations stand at 430 libraries, a decrease from the 773 reported in 2011. One of the company's priorities has been moving its customers from local installations of Library.Solution to its cloud hosting service, now used by 49.4 percent of its customers. TLC introduced Library.Solution version 5.x in 2005 with increased performance and modernized workflows. Carl.Solution serves larger municipal libraries and consortia. No new contracts were reported for Carl.Solution, which is currently implemented in 18 organizations. Though the number of installations appears small, its impact remains substantial since each installation serves a larger number of libraries. The Library Corporation emphasizes its focus on the changing needs of its customers, continually working to modernize and improve accessibility within its products.

Soutron Global

Soutron Global, backed by Bloom Equity Partners, acquired Vancouver-based MINISIS in late 2024 and Auto-Graphics, offering the VERSO ILS and SHAREit interlibrary loan platform in March 2025.

Brad Frasher was named CEO of the consolidated company in October 2025. Soutron founder Tony Sadaat exited in early 2026.

The acquisition of Auto-Graphics brings Soutron into the public library sector. Auto-Graphics' SHAREit fills an important niche as an interlibrary loan platform for very large library networks and has been implemented for many statewide resource sharing services. The VERSO ILS has been adopted by smaller public libraries and integrates well with SHAREit networks. In its first year as part of Soutron, Auto-Graphics focused on enhancing VERSO, the company's ILS for smaller public libraries, and SHAREit, an interlibrary loan platform used for many statewide resource sharing services. Development focused on modernizing staff and public interfaces, streamlined workflows, improved security through role-based access to features and data, and improved reporting. This year Auto-Graphics reported 5 new sales of Verso, increasing installations to 561. The Maryland State Library selected SHAREit to support Marina, a statewide interlibrary loan network for public libraries.

Biblionix

Biblionix specializes in web-based products for smaller public and school libraries. Apollo, introduced in 2007, gained 15 new libraries, increasing the total installations to 1,005. Artemis, the company's new product for school libraries introduced in 2024, has 20 total implementations, including 5 new subscribers this year. Biblionix recently enhanced Apollo with a new module for scheduling events and booking rooms. Localities that have implemented Apollo in their public library and Artemis in their schools can link the systems through the FlexShare Community to form a resource sharing network. This arrangement enables students to borrow from the public library without having to register for a second card. Participating libraries remain independent and patron details remain private to the home institution.

LibraryWorld

LibraryWorld, a small company with 6 employees, offers a low-cost web-based integrated library system for small libraries. 48 new libraries started subscriptions for LibraryWorld, increasing total users to 2,740. An additional 102 libraries use the company's more full-featured WikiLibrary service launched in 2021. LibraryWorld launched WebPAC, a new patron interface with a modern interface modeled after streaming services. WebPAC is available without additional cost. The company also recently launched a new Kids catalog.

Book Systems

Book Systems develops and supports the Atriuum integrated library system and the Librista mobile app, used mostly by smaller academic and public libraries and schools. The company was founded in 1989 and is privately owned. This year the company made 213 new sales for Atriuum, including 77 publics and 119 school libraries. Atriuum is now used in 5,477 libraries. Notable new installations include Southwest Kansas Library System migrating from Verso. This year, Book Systems introduced Atriuum Stax Circulation Workspace, a mobile staff circulation app for tablets and smartphones. The app has been implemented by 496 libraries. The Atriuum Gallery OPAC was enhanced with advanced facets and other search features.

International and Specialized Systems

Keystone Systems

Keystone Systems is a small privately-owned company employing 14 personnel that specializes in products and services for libraries serving the blind and print disabled. This year Keystone completed the implementations of KLAS for three organizations, including the Minnesota State Services for the Blind, The Kentucky Instructional Resource Center, and the 13 locations of the Michigan Talking Book and Braille Library. Two new contracts signed for KLAS increased total implementations to 122. Enhancements to KLAS recently completed include new features supporting libraries that participate in the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, a division of the Library of Congress. The company made improvements in accessibility for KLAS, both in its staff interfaces and in the KLAS WebOPAC.

Civica

Civica, well established in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, recently renewed its efforts to market its Spydus library management system in North America. Spydus has steadily evolved as a full-featured ILS for public libraries, culminating in Spydus 11, a fully cloud-based solution based on Microsoft Azure. Civica positions Spydus as a comprehensive solution, including all the standard modules of an ILS, an integrated discovery environment, mobile apps and interfaces, analytics, and patron engagement tools. Civica recently extended Spydus with an event management module. North American selections of Spydus included the College of Southern Idaho.

Axiell

Axiell, a privately held company based in Lund, Sweden, offers products and services for libraries, museums, and archives. With 373 employees, the company ranks as one of the largest in the global library technology industry. Axiell supports several ILS products for public libraries such as BOOKIT, Spark, and V-smart.

The company launched Quria in 2016 as a cloud-native platform for public libraries that emphasizes their increased involvement in digital content and services. Axiell reported 393 total installations for Quria and 128 new contracts this year. Recent clients include both independent library systems and consortia. Existing and new implementations are underway in Sweden, Germany, and France. Axiell is working toward completion of a national system in Greece, including a collective catalog and a network of public libraries in 2026. The company recently released Quria Discovery AI which uses artificial intelligence for enhanced search and a natural language chat service. Quria Discovery AI was first implemented by the Nacka Libraries in Sweden.

Axiell has a modest presence in North America for its library products, including installations of V-smart, and its products for museums and archives. Quria is not actively marketed in the US or Canada.

Systematic

Systematic, a major technology firm based in Aarhus, Denmark, provides systems and services to many industry sectors. The company developed Cicero, a comprehensive library management system that was initially deployed in 2018 for all 2,428 public and school libraries in Denmark. In 2025, Systematic won a tender to implement a new version of the system for the Danish National Library Solution. This new version, branded as Cicero Mobile, delivers web-based interfaces for all staff and patron functions. The company markets Cicero outside of Denmark, including recent sales to Hamburg and its 32 public libraries, the Helmet consortium serving Helsinki, Finland and neighboring municipalities, and to 70 municipalities in Norway. Systematic completed the implementation of Cicero in Stockholm Public Library. Systematic does not currently offer Cicero in North America.

Industry Forecast

Market Dynamics

Commercial organizations that serve the library community must recognize the prevailing characteristics of their potential customers. The library industry differs substantially from business-to-business or business-to-consumer scenarios. Libraries operate as service organizations with modest budgets, long planning cycles, and complex, domain-specific functional requirements. Providers must deliver exceptional products at moderate prices. Libraries expect collaboration with their technology providers and to be included in the development of product roadmaps.

Despite the current challenging economic situation, vendors investing in forward-looking technology products and services can expect better opportunities ahead. Many libraries still operate with products that have stagnated in underlying technology and functionality and may be ready to replace them with modern services. Considerable runway remains for new sales of library systems, especially when considering international opportunities. Vendors with international reach will benefit more than those that operate within a single country or region. Room for modest growth in product sales remains for the next few years until the market reaches a point of higher saturation.

Technology Trajectory

LSP and ILS products provide core business infrastructure but cannot be expected to address every aspect of library operations or service delivery. Many additional components can be layered or integrated to meet other needs. Discovery services, for example, form an additional layer of library infrastructure, enabling end users to explore and access physical and electronic resources. In the academic library sector, discovery services are almost always bundled with the core system, leaving few opportunities for libraries to mix and match components from different vendors. The public library ecosystem currently enables separate discovery layers from core systems, though going forward bundled solutions will gain steam.

Options for tightly integrated patron services with ILS products are also growing in the public library arena. New implementations of Koha for public libraries in the US almost always include Aspen Discovery. Likewise new sales of Polaris usually include Vega Discover and other components of the Vega LX suite. This trend toward bundling resource management systems and patron-facing products may be less expensive and easier to manage, but many public libraries will continue to require support for third-party solutions.

Libraries that have deferred system replacements due to budget limitations or operational complacency will increasingly have to move forward to new systems with modern functionality, more usable and accessible interfaces, and that meet cybersecurity requirements. Legacy ILS products will increasingly be seen as liabilities that constrain the success of the library. Libraries will not be motivated by lateral moves among products of similar capabilities and liabilities.

AI Impact

AI technologies will continue as a major factor for the industry and in the library community. Many libraries remain skeptical about AI-driven processes, especially those related to patron-facing services until they are definitively proven reliable. Vendors will increasingly explore new features possible through generative and agentic AI that improve upon previous capabilities, both in patron-facing interfaces and for staff workflows. They will increasingly employ AI to accelerate software development and deliver support services, even if not disclosed publicly. In other business sectors these uses of AI have driven workforce reduction; we can expect similar dynamics in the library industry. The hype, and the reality, of AI will not fade soon and will persist both as a major concern and as a beneficial technology for years to come.

About the report

The 2026 edition of the Library Systems Report, published through Library Technology Guides, describes the major events and details of the major vendors and products. The report will return to American Libraries in 2027. Data for the report included responses to a survey provided by each of the vendors, press releases, and data from Library Technology Guides. Some vendors did not respond, including Follett Software, LibLime, and Lucidea.