[Michlib-l] Apollo ILS

Sat Aug 7 16:47:24 EDT 2021

Stephanie,I was director of Harrison Township just before Melissa took over. Harrison Township was my introduction to Apollo. Up until I was at HTPL, I had never heard of Apollo. However, during my tenure at HTPL learned to love it! Apollo is extremely intuitive and easy to use. It is also in a constant state of evolution, adding new, useful features almost monthly.
Unlike other ILS systems, Biblionix, the company behind Apollo, is family owned by a father and two sons. One of the sons, Xan, is the creator of the system. Another son, Cameron, is the head of sales, and the father, Clark, is the business mind. Because Biblionix is a small business, the customer support is light years ahead of anything I have ever encountered in the ILS industry. Small problems are fixed in a few hours, medium-sized problems are fixed in a few days, and the really large issues are fixed in a few weeks.
When I was at Harrison Township, the one thing I didn't like about Apollo was the catalog display. I spoke with Biblionix about this toward the beginning of the pandemic, and they developed a new, alternate catalog display for VBDL, which I believe they may turn on for other clients as well. You may see our Apollo system here:Catalog — Van Buren District Library
When I started at Van Buren District Library, we were using Verso. Verso has proven itself to be an extremely troubled system. For VBDL, which is a seven location, class V library system, MeLCat has NEVER worked correctly with Verso. Paging slips for incoming requests were routinely sent to the wrong location. For over four yeas we conducted monthly meetings with Auto-Graphics, and at the top of the agenda was always "is there a fix for MeLCat in sight?" We tried everything, being nice, offering to pay for the fix, threats, and in the end nothing motivated them to correct the issue. During one of our final meetings they said they didn't know if the issue could be fixed. That's not to mention their much touted upgrade from Verso version five to version six was a complete disaster that took the system backwards rather than forwards, and introduced a new degree of instability into the platform.
VBDL migrated to Apollo at the end of June. It took most of July to work out the migration issues, but I'm happy to say they are almost completely resolved. The Biblionix team has been truly outstanding and a pleasure to work with. Our main point of contact at Biblionix for the migration issues has been a technician named Chris Brailas, and he has been truly amazing. The president and co-owner of Biblionix, Clark Charbonnet, even traveled to VBDL HQ in mid-June to personally train the staff. I cannot say enough positive things about Biblionix. Apollo is a relatively inexpensive system. It costs moderately more than Verso, but unlike Verso, Apollo works as intended, and that is a feature that is truly priceless!!!
Stephanie, feel free to give me a call if you have further questions, 269-423-4771, or if you wish to discuss this further.
Best,
Dan Hutchins
Director
Van Buren District Library
200 North Phelps Street
Decatur, MI 49045
dhutchins at vbdl.org
http://www.vbdl.org
269-423-4771 

    On Saturday, July 31, 2021, 10:37:27 PM EDT, Cynthia Stanczak via Michlib-l <michlib-l at mcls.org> wrote:  

 Another Apollo library here.  Totally agreed with everything said!  The easy cataloging, amazingly responsive customer service, tons of features rolled out based on customer request, and the many ways the platform is customizable to each small library's needs.  13/10, highly recommend.  I wish we'd done it years ago.
We came from Innovative Interfaces Sierra system.  The cost was increasing yearly and was approaching $10K with very poor customer service, especially for smaller clients.  We're paying $2,400/yr for Apollo, which includes the added features of cover art, reviews, and patron recommendations within the catalog.  Well, well worth it.  
Also, the catalog is just beautiful.  We adore the 'most popular,' 'what's new,' and 'booklist' features on the main page, and *LOVE* the 'reserve express' feature, which lets patrons get an automatic hold on any new item by their favorite authors and only needs a one-click step during cataloging.  The cataloging side is easier and more intuitive than systems I've used before, and our staff and patrons really appreciate the automated email and text message options that are available.  There's even a great report that populates patron emails to use for our digital newsletter.  Super helpful all around.
I've never used Auto-graphics Verso, so I can't offer a comparison, though.  We did consider them when we were shopping around though.  We opted for Biblionix Apollo.
Here's our catalog if you'd like to explore: https://albionlibrary.biblionix.com
Feel free to reach out if you want more information.  I'll even take you on a tour of the staff side of our Apollo system, if you like.  
Best wishes!
Cynthia Stanczak, MLS (she/her)
Library Director
Albion District Library
501 S. Superior St.Albion, MI  49224(517) 629-3993
Albion District Library: Transforming Minds, Changing Lives.  
Proudly serving our community since 1919.
Online at www.albionlibrary.org, or find us on Facebook! 
My working day may not be your working day. Please do not feel obligated to reply to this email outside of your normal working hours.

On Fri, Jul 30, 2021 at 12:51 PM EMAIL TEAM via Michlib-l <michlib-l at mcls.org> wrote:

Dear Directors,
Do any libraries use Apollo ILS, is it expensive? How is it working for you? How does in compare to Auto-graphics Verso?
Stephanie Daniels, Director
Vanderlyn Community Center & Hartford Public Library
12 Church Street Hartford, MI 49057(269)588-5103http://www.hartfordpl.michlibrary.org/_______________________________________________
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