What is Shelfwise?

Shelfwise is library-management software for organizations that don't need (or want) enterprise systems like Sirsi or Polaris. It's designed for libraries with 200 to 50,000 books, run by volunteers or a small staff, that want a modern catalogue, self-checkout, and member portal without IT overhead.

Who uses Shelfwise

• Community libraries running out of a small space — foyers, shared rooms, neighborhood lending
• School libraries (K-12, college, homeschool co-ops)
• Specialty libraries for clubs, non-profits, businesses, and trade associations
• Church and seminary libraries
• Any library that wants modern software without enterprise overhead

What you get

Every Shelfwise library includes:

• A clean, mobile-first catalogue with covers, descriptions, genres, and topics
• A self-checkout kiosk you can run on any tablet
• Holds, waitlists, and renewals with email notifications
• Patron families, child accounts, and parent approvals
• Curated collections and a featured Book of the Month
• Bulk ISBN import that pulls metadata from Google Books and Open Library
• A patron portal where members manage their own loans and saves
• Branding that matches your organization

What you don't have to do

You don't install anything. You don't host servers. You don't manage backups. You don't need a Google Workspace, a Stripe account, or a developer. Sign up at tryshelfwise.com/signup, pick a subdomain like maple.tryshelfwise.com, and you're catalogue-ready in under an afternoon.