A free, simple, and powerful solution for putting your church library online.
an article by Neil MacQueen, Sunday Software

Do you have a small or medium-size church library and are looking for a QUICK, FREE, and EASY SOLUTION to put your church library resources on-line and make them searchable? If yes, then read this article:
Church volunteers and librarians frequently email me asking "how to put their church library resources online to members can see what we have!"  Over the years, there have been numerous programs created to help you do that. Most cost money. Some are easier to use than others. And the achilles heal of all is that ONE person learns the software, and is thus forced to keep it up to date. And eventually both that person and the software goes out of date!   But here is a FREE solution that REALLY EASY to use, allows for searchability and multiple contributors, and has all the functionality that any small to medium church library could ever want: Create a free "library blog" at wordpress.com and start posting your individual resource "posts" under the "categories" of your choice. Come see my sample "Church Library Blog" at www.churchlibrary.wordpress.com The Advantages of creating a Church Library "Blog" in Wordpress.... 1. It's free.  (If I want to convert it to it's own domain name, such as 1stChurchLibrary.org  I can pay a small fee to wordpress to do that.( 2. You select from Templates to create your blog. No graphics or web-coding knowledge necessary. 3. Wordpress blog software can be accessed from any computer via the web. You do not install it on your computer. It's on their servers and they update the software regularly for free. 4. You can easily set up many "contributors" who can help you build the site and edit it. This keeps the site from dieing. 5. Wordpress blog features easy-to-add SEARCH FUNCTIONS, and tons of other widgets you can add. 6. You can set up a Feedburner Email Newsletter service right in the blog so that any "subscribing" to your Library Blog will instantly get notifications of your new postings. See my church website article which describes how to set up a free Google "Feedburner" email newsletter for any website. 7. With a little creative thinking and use, your blog can also track "who has checked out the resource" by using the blog's comment features. See my examle at www.churchlibrary.wordpress.com 8. Wordpress blog software is intuitive and easy to use.   Church Library, Church Accounting, Church Management, and Church Worship & Video Software Links Courtesy of Neil MacQueen, Sunday Software Learn more about Christian Education software for children, youth and adults Learn more about Sunday Software The following links are merely provided as a courtesy. Sunday Software does not carry church accounting, library, or worship software, but we do get asked about it a lot because we're into Christian Education software!
A list of church library software Links provided as a service without recommendation by Sunday Software. Request Manager, aka "RQM" ....an online piece of software designed for resource centers. Allows for web searches of your listings. www.requestmanager.org  OPALS-NA http://www.opals-na.org  Open source software you maintain and manage online.  Annual subscription fee. Free evaluation period. Library Media -http://www.libdata.com/ This is a simple to use demonstration of an ONLINE Library management tool. ie...the database software for your library AND search functions for your library patrons are all maintained on a web-server. Probably worth looking into. BookMaster -for small libraries, http://www.cadomel.com/ Library Concepts, http://libraryconcepts.com Request Manager Resource Center software, http://www.requestmanager.org/ Surpass Software --for small libraries, http://www.surpasssoftware.com/ Library 1.7, http://www.cross-products.com/ ResourceMate 3.0, http://www.jaywil.com/  Email Sunday Software to put YOUR LIBRARY SOFTWARE RECOMMENDATION HERE Church Worship Software, Worship Video Clips, Resources. Visual Slide Studio: Church presentation software, includes Bibles, Backgrounds, Style sheets, Music library and a whole lot more. Try it for free at www.digitalsoft.org Christian Video Magazine and Christian A-V Magazine ... two free magazine from the people at Christian Computing magazine, www.CCmag.com. www.Sermonspice.com  Sermon and Worship videos. Church Management & Accounting Software Links: ACS Technologies (formerly Automated Church Software) http://www.acstechnologies.com ChurchTRAC http://www.churchtrac.com/ free from very small churches Church Windows http://www.churchwindows.com/ ChurchRadius.com (www.churchradius.com) Free church mgmt software   ChurchWare, a free fully functional downloadable program with free support. http://churchware.com/ Community Builder Inc. A unique approach where the software/data is securely stored and accessible from anywhere online. Allows people to donate and look up their giving statements online, ministry tools events calendars, photo pages, etc. http://www.churchcommunitybuilder.com/ Icon System, Inc http://www.iconcmo.com Shelby Systems http://www.shelbyinc.com ChurchOffice(tm) Solutions PO Box 1965 Pt Roberts WA 98281 http://www.churchoffice.com Church Watch Software http://www.churchwatch.com/ Church Pro Software http://churchpro.com Servant Keeper http://www.servantpc.com Shepherd's Staff http://www.shepherdsstaff.org/staff/ Church Related Online Software Systems (CROSS Systems) http://www.cross-products.com/ Pros and Cons of using Quickbooks for Church http://www.churchaccountingsoftwareguide.com/quickbooks-non-profit-review/ Email Sunday Software to put your Church Accounting Software recommendation on our list	Highlights from our Software Listings  The Ten Commandments CD A virtual hike up Mt Sinai through three spectacular 360 degree "photobubbles" Pathways Through Jerusalem CDs one of the most highly acclaimed religion CDs ever produced. Ilumina Gold Premium The finest multimedia-rich study Bible ever produced  "Computers in your church library" -how to attract children (and their parents) to your resources. An article written for Church and Synagogue Library magazine. Jesus in Space is an interactive program from Sunday Software Bolding sharing the Gospel on new worlds! Sunday Software we've got the software and materials nobody else has. Request our catalog. HolyLand 3-D CD A Virtual Bible Atlas you Fly in 3-D Created with high resolution satellite images   Great Bible Videos....  Come see THE BEST Animated Bible Videos and the best JESUS videos I've ever seen. Plus some movie guides and a Guide to Teaching with Video...all free on our video page.

When picking software for your church office, keep these things in mind:

1. Most churches utilize only a fraction of a program's capabilities. Buying extra features you may never use seems foolish.

2. Ease of use, support and stability of the company are paramount concerns, NOT price.

3. Make sure the company you're dealing with offers excellent technical support and easy to read manuals. Look for web-based support and help.

4. Will this company be in business three years from now when I need a newer version?

5. Is the current version they are selling up-to-date? I.E.... If they only offer a Windows 3.1 version, walk away.

6. Make sure the company offers training ...and then get it. Too often churches buy a new computer and new software package only to run out of money and never get proper training.

7. Make sure the people selecting your software know what they are doing. The church's accounting software decision is no place for armchair techies and amateur bookkeepers.

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