Follett Destiny Library Manager Reviews & Product Details

Follett Destiny Library Manager (FDLM) is very user friendly for me - as a school librarian - to perform cataloguing, daily circulation and inventory tasks. Another bonus for FDLM is its capability in producing well-detailed reports and resource management. Both staff and students in my institution can easily get the access to the system to suit their needs. To be frank, FDLM enhances the library experience in our school library. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Initial steps are a bit complicated, it can take some training for new users. Interface updates are not as regular as we might hope, and the interface almost feels retro by comparison to current solutions. Budgetary concerns and licensing cost are a potential issue for smaller institutions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

As a first time librarian with no previous exposure to library software, I was concerned with how not knowing how things work. Destiny Library Manager is very simple to use, but can do so much! I've only scratched the surface of all it offers, but I was able to get the basics down quickly with no formal training other that the video series that Follett offers. I also like how I can track books, students (patrons), and other materials from previous years without having to consult an outside source. I also like the access to Destiny Discover as it gives me confidence while I learn my library. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I am not a fan of the newest updates. They look really nice, but it does slow down my access and sometimes it freezes entirely and automatically reverts to the older system. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Follett Destiny Library Manager reassures its users how to use the program in such a way it makes sense and it's not a guessing game to get the answers needed to feel successful. The staff on-call is ready to assist, even to the point they show you what to click on to get the information needed. There are many online workshops for beginners. Customer Support is available whenever or however you need more information. This program was designed for its users to feel successful and know there are answers to every situation. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The downfalls of using Follett Destiny might be self navigating and getting frustrated with the program before making a phone call or reaching online for additional help. Follett Destiny staff that will set up a time to sit down and go through what struggles are being faced. They are very knowledgeable and willing to guide librarians through the process of finding what is needed to feel confident and have a better understanding on how the software works. I was pleased to find out what free sites are available on their webpage to get all the information needed to feel successful. Customer support is there and is willing to direct or answer questions about their software and how to navigate easier to feel successful. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the categories of Back Office they make sense for the work of the librarian. Such as "Catalog", " Circulation", "Reports" etc. It is easy to navigater through the different work that we do all day long. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Some tasks like making an expired "Hold active" just requires too many clicks. I wish when you were looking for a patron in circulation that is in the name of the book such as "Brown" it would give you the patron names and the books with those names. At the moment, if you want to find a student with the last name Brown you have to click the "Find Patron" Button. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the fact that the cataloguing is made simple by allowing us to use the records from Alliance Plus. As the sole librarian for a school of 360+ students without any sort of assistant, cataloguing new resources takes up the majority of my time. If the book's record is available for me to simply "Add Copies" to, it helps me save a lot of processing time.

As the main circulation desk for a school of 360+ students, Destiny provides stability despite the lack of other features. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I dislike how rigid it is, and the lack of customisable reporting or searching. Coming from Softlink's Oliver v5 which has a host of reports which can each be customised to suit whatever needs I might have. Analytical reporting from Softlink is also a really nice feature, and would love to see it implemented into Destiny. Also, the homepage is not as customisable as one would be on Oliver, so I've been forced to make a separate library landing page for the different resources to be accessed by students and staff.

Destiny also lacks RFID support, so rather than me being able to incorporate RFID into my book processing and circulation, I have to rely on manual methods of stocktaking which can be time consuming, inefficient and prone to errors.

Customer support is based in the United States, so sometimes when I need urgent support during the school day here in Hong Kong, I'm forced to wait until the evening for a response - which sometimes never even comes.

Circulation is quite inefficient sometimes as the student name search is quite spelling-specific, meaning unless I spell the students' names correctly, it will not appear as a search result. This can be difficult for new staff who are stepping in and performing circulation for the first time, especially when names are not spelled phonetically or in the typical manner that we might be used to. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like best about Follett Destiny Library Manager is its user-friendly interface and the ability to easily manage all aspects of library operations in one place. The system simplifies cataloging, circulation, and inventory, making it efficient to track resources. I also appreciate its powerful reporting tools, which help me analyze data and make informed decisions about library management. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I dislike about Follett Destiny Library Manager is that I find it challenging to generate reports. I have to be very precise in selecting the right options to get the desired results, which can be time-consuming. I wish the process was simpler and more intuitive, allowing for easier customization and quicker access to the needed data. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I've been using Library Manager for 9 years, and until about a year ago, I was fully satisfied with it and would have highly recommended it to anyone. The implementation process was smooth, and it has all the features I need (we're a hosted site). It's been very reliable, and I find the system easy to use. I am the district administrator so know the system well and train others in my district in using it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The recent update to the UI has been frustrating—it's slow and unreliable, so much so that I ended up disabling it and reverting to the previous interface. Additionally, I'm disappointed with recent changes at the company, particularly the removal of the key support person who used to host monthly webinars on new features. Over the past three years, we've seen a 5% increase in our annual subscription, yet there have been no noticeable improvements in the product. Furthermore, as an international customer, we're unable to access the Enriched Reporting features available to US customers, even though we pay the same subscription fee. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Being able to download records directly from Follett and/or from other Follett Libraries is so much easier than having to try to find the records myself online. Our previous program had the ability to search online sources, but it didn't work most of the time. Plus, a few of the previously free site were now pay to use, so they were no longer available to us.

Being able to easily integrate with Titlewave. I used Titlewave previously, but when our School Division replaced our old program (2 previous to Follett), the newer program did not allow us to upload our records, so we were unable to use it. Being able to seamlessly integrate with Titlewave is wonderful.

The ability to charge fines for lost books, record payments, and issue receipts and refunds is so easy! Plus the variety of reports available makes our job a lot easier. We previously had to type out our own invoices and use hand written receipts. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Don't know if it is an issue with Destiny or with our School Division IT, but we are unable to pull Student Contact Info from Power School. Parents are asking if we can email overdue/items out notices, but we don't have any contact info, so we can only print and hope the students remember to give them to their parents.

One thing I wish it would do is identify which books are/were signed out when doing inventory. This is one thing our previous program did, which was invaluable when trying to find missing books at the end of the year.

Another thing would be to allow us to extend the time before being logged out. Our class periods are 45 minutes long, and if we need to speak to students before signing out books, or if we read them a story, we often need to log back in again before we can continue. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

We have been using Fillett Destiny for over twenty years in our school district. This is the only product we have ever used but have been satisfied with customer service and quality of the software. I love TitlePeak--it's so helpful to remind students what the cover of their overdue book looks like. I think it also makes catalog browsing more immersive. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I think some of the updates are unnecessary--rearranging and changing tabs. The current mobile apps are not usable for me at this time--I preferred the previous one where we could use check out books from anywhere with our phone. Perhaps I haven't spent enough time with it. For the purposes of our school( 9-12) I prefer the look of Destiny classic for catalog searches. I do use the "Collections" feature because the visual aspect appeals to me as well as our students. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the way the platform conforms to my needs, as well as those of my students. In Destiny Discover, my patrons have a visual platform with curation tools such as Collections. In BackOffice, I can view copy info, as well as patron info, reports, statistics, and more. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The reports can often be hard to customize. There should be more default report options. I want to be able to see stats for genres. For example, if I'm trying to increase the circulation of nonfiction, I want to be able to run a report to see how much is being checked out. Also, the snapshot statistic reports for past years need to have more options than simply the total circulations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.