school books
TinyCat

FOR SCHOOLS

The online library catalog for school and classroom libraries, powered by LibraryThing

Designed with Students in Mind

  • Simple

    TinyCat is a simple, fast, and clean way to manage your small library. Teachers love TinyCat’s easy-to-use interface, including a simple self-checkout system.

  • Mobile

    TinyCat works with the technology already in your school. Whether a classroom tablet, student laptop, or library computer, you can easily share your library catalog—no download or app required.

  • Powerful

    Book recommendations and faceted results allow you to fine-tune your catalog to your students' needs. Designate books for specific assignments, reading levels, or any way you see fit using custom tags.

  • Enhanced

    Your catalog can be enhanced with Dewey Decimal Classification® numbers, series, genres, professional and reader reviews, and more.

  • Professional

    Manage circulation and allow student self-checkout. Update class lists each year with our complete user import/export. Import and export your library in multiple formats.

  • Tested and Trusted

    Since 2005, LibraryThing has been the best home library solution, used by more than three million customers.

    Since 2016, TinyCat has been the best library software choice for schools, classrooms, and more.

The Library Catalog

School library screenshots

Some of Our Customers

Nolan Creek School Library Logo

Nolan Creek School empowers K-8 students in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math.

Nolan Creek School Library

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YOUR Library

Check out your existing LibraryThing catalog on TinyCat.

30-day free trials.

Check it out now

Pine Tree Academy

Pine Tree Academy is a co-ed university prep school for boarding and day students in grades K–12.

PTA Library's TinyCat

Meriadoc Homeschool Library

Meriadoc Homeschool Library is a private subscription-based lending library for homeschooling book lovers in SE Houston.

Meriadoc Homeschool Library

Mr. Bronson's Library

Mr. Bronson's TinyCat serves a middle school classroom library.

Mr. Bronson's Library

RSSAA Library

Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor provides Pre-K through 12th grade students with a Waldorf Education.

RSSAA Library Online Catalog

School and Classroom Library Management

Your Collection

Import your existing collection, from MARC and other formats.

Copy catalog from over 4,900 libraries and other sources.

Leverage the power of LibraryThing to add tags, covers, and other metadata.

Make your library catalog shine with full series coverage, awards, published reviews, and over two million reader reviews.

Your Online Library

Mobile-ready for tablets and smartphones in the classroom.

Starred Lists can be built and shared for group projects, student reading lists, and more.

True faceted searching, like one of those expensive "discovery systems."

Stable URLs and social media buttons allow library staff and users to share the library anywhere on the web.

Circulation

Simple circulation system designed for small libraries; our simplest circulation mode is perfect for classrooms and other high-trust environments.

Holds, renewals, overdues, reminder emails, circulation exports, and automated reports give you everything you need to track your lending.

Optional student accounts include user sign-in and borrowing history.

Student user accounts can have multiple emails, for students with more than one household.

Testimonials

Classroom Library

"TinyCat is a great solution for teachers managing a class library. Thank you for this valuable tool!"

– Ms. Kreider's Classroom Library

Smiling in the Stacks

"Our TinyCat catalog is always growing and I couldn't be happier. Whether at home or school, it’s a pleasure to use and it’s really satisfying to see the scroll of new books."

– Bridget, St. Aloysius School Library

Danke!

"TinyCat has revolutionized our little school library, and I appreciate very much all the work you put into the system."

– Katie, German Language School Cleveland Library

For the Love of Reading

"Please thank any and everyone who created TinyCat. I’m going to be able to get so many more books into parent’s hands, and so many more kids will hear stories."

– Anne-Marie, Educare Chicago Library

Easy to Use

"I am a retired school librarian & absolutely love TinyCat. It is easy to use, even for non-librarians."

– Sharon, Childsplay Theater

Mobile Friendly

"I love that I can use TinyCat on my computer, tablet, phone, etc., and I like the prompt response I get whenever I have a question!"

– Sue, Christian Hills School Library

Pricing (30-day free trial)

Volunteer

no budget or staff; all classrooms

  • up to 500 items
    $3/month
  • up to 1,000 items
    $4/month
  • up to 2,000 items
    $6/month
  • up to 5,000 items
    $8/month
  • up to 10,000 items
    $12/month
  • up to 20,000 items
    $20/month

Paid Staff

managed by librarians; all schools

  • up to 500 items
    $10/month
  • up to 1,000 items
    $14/month
  • up to 2,000 items
    $20/month
  • up to 5,000 items
    $25/month
  • up to 10,000 items
    $30/month
  • up to 20,000 items
    $45/month

Special Pricing

10+ accounts

  • Email us for more information on group pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does checkout work?

You can check items in/out in the admin portal, or allow self-checkout. “Simple Circulation” mode is perfect for high-trust environments, like classrooms, where all students share one common password. “Full Circulation” mode gives your students individual accounts and logins.

Do my students need library cards?

You don’t need to use library cards for your students, but we do offer full barcode support if you have them. You can also create your own library cards by exporting your student data and running a simple mail merge.

Does TinyCat support Fountas and Pinnell or Accelerated Reader Levels?

While TinyCat cannot automatically detect F&P or AR data, you can easily tag books with their reading levels to make it easy for students to find a book that corresponds with their reading goals. You can also use tags to highlight collections of books approved for specific assignments ("3rd Grade Animal Research Project", or "Mr. Simmons AP History Exam"), or for topics that are special to your school ("Texas Authors" or "Life in the Pine Barrens").

How many students can I have?

As many as you need: there’s no limit to the number of students you can add or import to your TinyCat.

How do I manage students with multiple households?

TinyCat lets you add more than one email address per user, so each address will receive the same notifications (including any checkout reminders and overdue notices).

Is TinyCat done?

No way! We're always working to improve TinyCat and we welcome your feedback and suggestions as we continue to grow.

Powered by LibraryThing

Since 2005, LibraryThing has been the leader in home cataloging, but it’s too big, open, and social for small library patrons.

Started in 2016, TinyCat transforms your collection in LibraryThing into a simple and attractive small library catalog. With over 4,900 sources for cataloging information, LibraryThing is a wealth of data for and about your library. TinyCat allows you to share that with your students.

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