A Library computer system is the software used to catalog, track circulation (where appropriate) and inventory the library's assets meant for circulation. Such software is intended for the needs of the home, church, private enterprise or other small to medium sized collectscollections. Larger, First World libraries will typically use an [[Integrated library system]] to manage the more- complex activities such as aquisitionaquisitions and the reference interview.
This article is intended to assist the librarian of a small to medium sized collection in selecting software, much as the [[Comparison_of_wiki_software]]
==Software Criteria==
===Distributed SofwareSoftware vs. Web Service===
Library computer systems tend to fall into two offerings,: Softwaresoftware to be purchased or a service. With Distributed Software the customer installs the applicationsapplication on their own hardware and is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the application and the data. whereascustomersCustomers who subscribe to a service merely upload data to the vendor's remote server via the internet and may pay a periodic fee to access their data.
