Insignia Library System Reviews

My school district switched to Insignia for our library management system in May, 2017.

Comments: Improved functionality for management of 52 school libraries under a union district catalog, and school OPACs.

Pros:

Insignia basics are user friendly and easy to train staff and substitutes on. Tutorials and the customer service help team have been very helpful and patient as the staff has transitioned from the old system. The software is deep, allowing for customization of reports and OPAC features. Cataloging is easy and the software allows for a variety of access levels. Inventory is also easy to manage and provides excellent reporting capabilities. Customer service is excellent and the service team works to continually improve the interface as requested to better suit our district's specific needs.

Cons:

I am a librarian who coordinates library services for a district of 24,000 students. I do not have a technology background and rely on the district IT department personnel for much of the software integration. Because Insignia continually works to improve the software to meet my district's needs, there is little to mention here from the user interface side. There have been challenges in the conversion process from our old system, as there are with any conversion, but the Insignia team did a great job getting our data set up and training the staff. There are still challenges with getting our student data system (eSchool) and learning management system (Canvas) to communicate well with Insignia so the maximum amount of current information can be seen in all systems (especially with regard to library charges), but this is an ongoing project between my district's IT department and Insignia. Based on my experience of the past year, I am confident going forward that the improvements will continue and we will remain pleased with Insignia.

Insignia Library System gives access to a federation of modules in one click

Comments: We customised the relevant modules such that each module represents the needs of every community of our patrons

Pros:

We needed a way with which to meet the needs of patrons of a public library who have heterogeneous characteristics. Insignia Library System helped us to create communities within a single interface. Thus we customised relevant modules to meet the needs of each community. These include text books for learners, periodicals for general public, and e-commerce for business community. With a single sign-on, patrons get access to all the modules available. The feature makes librarians become more efficient in the management of loans as we easily keep track of all the resources that a patron has on loan. Links to third party databases have proved to be extremely useful to researchers who need to evaluate huge amount of data from various sources in order to get accurate information. We managed to connect Insignia Library System's OPAC with Tweeter and Facebook accounts, bringing social interaction between patrons and staff.

Cons:

There are many modules in Insgnia Library System that we don't need. We believe that our library could have paid less if the software only contained modules that we need

Good for end user, not good for the back end users

Pros:

Good for end users, but not good for back end users (the people who use it to create records). End users can see changes in the catalogue right away. Web-based program, so we are no longer server-reliant. Theoretically, can use Insignia anywhere from any computer.

Cons:

This program has a LOT of mousing would be so much better if they can introduce more keyboard shortcuts. I have noticed a considerable difference when we switched over to Insignia, that there are more screens to click through when creating a record. This increases overall time spent of an individual record. Importing French records continues to be an issue with the diacritics never displaying properly.

Insignia is a reliable and stable software product. Customer support is fantastic.

Pros:

I spend most of my time using the cataloguing and circulation modules. It's nice that I'm no more then 3 clicks away from where I want to go within the program. As a cataloguer I like the way the tabs are set out and I've never had issues with the Z39 interface. The list that appears when creating subjects headings is useful as well. In a school setting, it's nice to have the different circulation options to check books out by class lists or searching by individual students. The ability to create a list of favorite reports is a nice enhancement as there are so many reports to choose from, now I don't have to remember the name of the report or have to scroll through the many reports. Being based in Edmonton (and the same time zone) customer support has been very timely. If, and when problems arise and emailed responses don't solve it, the Go To meetings and phone calls are quick to come. I also like the follow up afterwards to ensure that my questions were answered.

Cons:

I've felt that the OPAC was a forgotten part of Insignia but that is changing. I'm working on spending more time learning the mobile app.

We love Insignia. The software is easy to use, intuitive and does everything an ILS should.

Pros:

After reviewing software from many companies and testing it prior to purchase we chose Insignia because of price, ease of use, great features and the help we received during the demonstration and test. We had no idea that the customer service would be as fantastic as what we have received over the past five years. You can contact tech support by phone, email or messaging from the software and be assured of a quick and professional response. If the problem is not an Insignia related issue they do not suggest you call your own tech expert but will work with you and do all they can to remedy the issue over the phone or an online meeting. Their knowledge, expertise and patience is what makes their customer service unbeatable. Where other companies may leave you on your own, they will go the extra mile and help to solve any problem you might have. It's difficult to choose a software provider from a demonstration or quick test when so many features look similar and the end do much the same. Insignia's software does all it promised and does it as well as any we've seen or used but the customer service sets it apart from any other company we deal with. You will not be disappointed, they excel at what they do.

Not recommended

Comments: We began using Insignia Software in 2010 and were very impressed with this company. They had quick and easy support and even added features and worked with us to make the software function as we needed. I can say that the interface is very user friendly and they've expanded offerings but that doesn't help when you have no customer service. Much to our dismay and frustration, four years later beginning in April 2014, our staff has been unable to get responses to the simplest questions from Insignia's tech support despite having a support agreement in place. An update promised to us more than two months ago (July 2014) has never appeared. The support team is unresponsive and sometime not very knowledgeable about their products or how to best resolve issues. Management has failed to return or acknowledge emails in recent months. When I did email management my frustrations, they not only wrote a very abrupt, dismissve response but they referred me back to the support management who doesn't return emails. They are not apologetic at all with our Technology Librarian when she is able to get in touch with them. We're highly disappointed and will be seeking other vendors to migrate our ILS as soon as possible when the budget allows.

We've been with Insignia since 2001 and made that choice based on price and ease of use.

Pros:

We've experienced many changes and developments in the software and are pleased with the growth and addition of many helpful features. We are most pleased with customer service and always find them to be responsive and follow up on any issues we submit. Cataloguing is easy (use Z39.50 and Cloning options alot), circulation with home room or individual check out options work very well. We really appreciate all of the processes that we are able to access through global changes and user defined global changes. Great time savers. We discover things quite often that we didn't know were possible!

Cons:

There are a lot of features in the program that we just don't use and find confusing - one example is reports. Many of them don't apply to our school library environment. Also, we find that with every update come issues with things that don't work the way they used to.

User friendly and easy to use!

Pros:

I like how easy it is to use when I do book exchanges with my Elementary classes. I enjoy being able to see pictures of the students when I do a Homeroom Checkout. I also appreciate the pop-ups that come up that prompt me to enter my password if I attempt to do something that isn't what I am supposed to do, for example, sign out a "Teacher's Resource" to a student. One final thing - I enjoy how easy it is to get customer service support from the Insignia team.

Cons:

I wish the list of reports was easier to navigate as I feel I could implement more of the reports if I could easily find what I was looking for.

We used this software for approximately one year and then moved on.

Comments: Just a headache.

Pros:

Price. The price was what tempted us. We also really liked the fact that it was web based and could be hosted.

Cons:

The program is not consistently tested. Once a new feature is added, it very often led to problems in other areas of the software. There were many broken promises that we dealt with after implementation. I do not recommend this for any academic or school library.

Library Express is an excellent product. It is easy to check books in and out efficiently.

Comments: Insignia's support team was able to import the information over from my extremely old, defunct software that my library had been using for over four years. Having the information on the titles moved over for me made implementation of the new system extremely easy.

Pros:

The homeroom sign out is very convenient. I love how it shows at a glance who has books overdue or on request and signed out. The system is easy to use and allows you to print out reports tailored to your needs.

Cons:

Some newer printed scholastic books or specialty educational DVDs are not available in the ISBN search. The Z39.50 search can be a little time consuming when it finds too many or too few books with the same title. Overall, it is a small con and certainly does not impact the use of the system.

The best library software I've used

Pros:

Insignia is the only product I found that has all of the features I needed, including full authority control and customized labels. I also have full control of an item's MARC record. The support I have received as I rolled out the software has been quick, responsive, friendly and effective. I replaced another software product I had used for 15 years, and I wish I'd found Insignia a lot sooner.

Cons:

There's a little bit of a steep learning curve in the beginning, but with use I've become well versed in the features I need. There are still many more to learn!

Descent system

Comments: The Public Library I work at uses the system I have been there six months and learned the Insignia system pretty quickly. My volunteers have found it easy to work with as well. The support from the 1-800 number is pretty solid to. My only complaint is the updates-communication. They have updated things a few times without telling us first. This sometimes causes a disruption in service and I am forced to call the 1-800 number to rectify the problem. These updates happen 3-4 times a year from what I gather.

Very Happy with our new Library Software

Comments: I am very satisfied with our new library software, Insignia. Not only is the product state of the art technology, they also were very helpful during the transition from old Follett! Since then our customer service has been excellent, if they cannot answer a question, I get a return call within a day. My students love the phone app also, the ease of check out by class is wonderful for textbooks at the beginning of the year! After previewing 3 companies, I am very happy with Insignia!

Our district purchased this software a few years ago, I really like it now!

Comments: It would not have been my decision to purchase this software, however, it has been very easy to learn and I have received plenty of support from 1-800 number. I use it on my laptop and on my tablet but I wish it would work on the student's Chromebooks.