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Brooklyn Public Library – Book Checkout Scanner

Established in 1896, Brooklyn Public Library is one of the largest public library systems in the United States and currently has more than 850,000 active cardholders. With a branch library within a half-mile of the majority of Brooklyn’s 2.7 million residents, BPL is a recognized leader in cultural offerings, literacy, out-of-school-time services, workforce development programs, and digital literacy.

It is the mission of Brooklyn Public Library to ensure the preservation and transmission of society's knowledge, history and culture, and to provide the people of Brooklyn with free and open access to information for education, recreation and reference.

Brooklyn Public Library has an in-house developed online catalog where users can browse the collection, make booklists, and manage their accounts. Brooklyn had used vendor software in the past, but moved to an in-house PWA (ReactJS & PHP) developed in 2020.

Brooklyn’s online catalog has a self-checkout feature that uses STRICH barcode scanning so users can checkout their materials quickly at a branch without having to wait in line at a customer service desk. This feature is also helpful for patrons checking out sensitive materials who wish to avoid seeing a clerk.

Screenshot of BKLYN app with catalog showing
Screenshot of BKLYN app with book checkout scanner showing

Portrait of Alejandra Cameron Myers, Web developer at BKLYN “We tried a number of different libraries for barcode scanning but always had compatibility issues. With STRICH we got fast, reliable scanning with no issues. Integration was easy, and we were up and running in production in a day (thanks to some great documentation). We couldn't recommend it more!”

Cameron Myers
Web Developer @ BKLYN