# LibAnswers Reviews **Vendor:** Springshare **Category:** [Library Management Systems](https://www.g2.com/categories/library-management-systems) **Average Rating:** 4.3/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 12 ## About LibAnswers A platform with a built-in knowledge base for improved reference service. ## LibAnswers Reviews ### 1. Love LibAnswers **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jessica P. | Education Doctoral Librarian, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 05, 2023 **What do you like best about LibAnswers?** I love that I can create FAQ Groups for specific user groups, such as subject specialists. It's also useful for conducting online chats via LibChat (with faculty, staff, and students) and also for screensharing. However, my favorite part of this software is the ability to record reference statistics in Reference Analytics! This makes reporting statistics and overviews of library services so convenient and simple! It's SO easy to use. **What do you dislike about LibAnswers?** Unfortunately, our organization does not regularly provide updates on social media. I know that LibAnswers offers the ability to post Tweets and Facebook messages, but due to the current leadership of our organization, our social media activity is lacking. Therefore, I haven't utilized ALL that LibAnswers has to offer, but it sounds like it could be very useful for organizations and companies. **What problems is LibAnswers solving and how is that benefiting you?** LibAnswers helps our organization stay in touch with users online, and provides a convenient location for our users to find answers to their questions. ### 2. Versatile platform that can be used for way more than chat services **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Brittani S. | Reference and Instruction Librarian, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 31, 2019 **What do you like best about LibAnswers?** I like the intuitiveness of LibAnswers withing the chat feature. You can set it up to insert pre-populated answers, saving both you and the patron time and is very convenient as well. **What do you dislike about LibAnswers?** I don't like that unless you intentionally go to a separate Dashboard area, you're not alerted of when new questions are submitted that you may have missed; i.e. if you share virtual reference responsibilities sometimes questions come in between folks, on missed shifts, etc. There's no notification or alert that shows you there are new ones, so questions can have been waiting through several shifts, if someone is particularly busy, and then they are forgotten until someone remembers or claims one. **Recommendations to others considering LibAnswers:** It can be used for a lot more than reference and chat questions, so I'd recommend. **What problems is LibAnswers solving and how is that benefiting you?** We use it daily in our library system to offer an additional reference services to students, faculty, and staff at my university. ### 3. LibAnswers is an easy-to-use software to log library statistics and track visitor statistics. **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Emily L. | PR Coordinator, Public Relations and Communications, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 07, 2018 **What do you like best about LibAnswers?** The features on LibAnswers are very intuitive, so all staff members are easily able to view and interpret data. It can be used for both simple and complex functions. **What do you dislike about LibAnswers?** The website interface looks a little outdated in terms of font and color. I believe there is a way to arrange information on the software to create a better flow of data input. **Recommendations to others considering LibAnswers:** Customize the features to fit your organization, utilize data charts to allocate employee time and resources **What problems is LibAnswers solving and how is that benefiting you?** Our library was having issues tracking the individual interactions that staff have with patrons, and employee funding is allocated based on how useful staff make themselves. We were unable to determine the areas where patrons need the most help (circulation, information, technology assistance). LibAnswers has allowed us to log patron stats and keep a better track of where our services are most needed. ### 4. A wonderful service for libraries (and even non-libraries!) **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Chris B. | Songwriter and Recording Artist, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 31, 2019 **What do you like best about LibAnswers?** Makes the process of engaging with customers via multiple social media accounts a breeze (well, a breeze compared to NOT using Libanswers) The user interface is clean, simple, and intuitive, and the end result is a huge time save. **What do you dislike about LibAnswers?** It can take a bit to find your bearings if you're not used to the interface style. It's different, to be sure, but like anything, you'll get out of it what you put into it. Worth the time investment to learn. **Recommendations to others considering LibAnswers:** Search around for some tutorial vids as soon as you know you'll be using, it can make training your staff a much easier process. It's also very much worth looking at your organization's needs to decide whether you'll need something as powerful as LibAnswers or if you'd even be fine without it. Use discernment, for sure. **What problems is LibAnswers solving and how is that benefiting you?** As a larger library system, LibAnswers makes managing multiple SM accounts and responding to them in timely manners a much simpler, QUICKER task. Saves us time and money. ### 5. LibAnswers: Great Resource for Great Writers **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jessica T. | Instructional Assistant, Education Management, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 31, 2019 **What do you like best about LibAnswers?** I love that if you have a question that you can’t find on their site, they have someone available to help you ALL the time! **What do you dislike about LibAnswers?** The website itself Is not super flashy and pretty basic. It does get the job done though! It can be difficult to navigate at times. **What problems is LibAnswers solving and how is that benefiting you?** As an educator it helps keep me Up to date with writing styles and any changes that are made. It also is a good quick reference for questions I have as well as a good support tool while I teach my students! ### 6. LibAnswers is a great tool for tracking interactions with patrons **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Holly J. | First Year Seminar Instructor, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 31, 2019 **What do you like best about LibAnswers?** I like the ability to create different forms for different uses - instruction, desk transactions, etc. **What do you dislike about LibAnswers?** I wish it was more integrative with other Springshare products - like a form could pop up in our calendar bookings for us to compile everything through the same entry point **Recommendations to others considering LibAnswers:** LibAnswers and Springshare in general are great resources for libraries and I highly recommend them. **What problems is LibAnswers solving and how is that benefiting you?** We're keeping track of our meetings with people on campus, especially for statistical reporting purposes. ### 7. LibAnswers Review **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Libraries | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 31, 2019 **What do you like best about LibAnswers?** What I like best about the LibAnswers, as with every review, is that it is so simple to use. I really also love their theme colors. **What do you dislike about LibAnswers?** This site helps to deliver information to patrons, it's so easy to use so there really is nothing I can say that I would dislike. **What problems is LibAnswers solving and how is that benefiting you?** I had been using LibAnswers to connect with patrons in a way that would be useful to them, ensuring those contacts are beneficial. ### 8. Remote reference **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sheelagh O. | Public Services Librarian, Libraries, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 25, 2018 **What do you like best about LibAnswers?** I like LibAnswers because it gives customers the opportunity to send questions and comments to our organization at any time of the day and gives staff the flexibility to provide comprehensive answers and information when needed. It keeps track of everything that comes and goes so we can refer back to a previous question if follow up is needed. **What do you dislike about LibAnswers?** I really don't have anything negative to say about the service at this time. **What problems is LibAnswers solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are able to reach customers remotely so they can get what they need while remaining in the comfort of their owe homes. We have found this to be a very useful product and in addition to LibAnswers we also use LibCal and LibGuides with the same vendor. ### 9. LibCal **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Public Relations and Communications | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 29, 2018 **What do you like best about LibAnswers?** The many options for audience categories **What do you dislike about LibAnswers?** Sometimes, too many options isnt a good thing. The sorting menu needs more filters and a translaation option **Recommendations to others considering LibAnswers:** Have a pretty detailed idea of what categories and options you need for your front facing audience before you set it up. **What problems is LibAnswers solving and how is that benefiting you?** Making events public ### 10. Quick Wayof Herding Cats **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Brittani S. | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 21, 2018 **What do you like best about LibAnswers?** I like that this software is manipulable by everyone in an organization but can be accessed both by the workers and the users. **What do you dislike about LibAnswers?** There is no way to link things directly to a LibAnswer so they must be manually updated, however, that also allows for changes in multi-campus settings. **What problems is LibAnswers solving and how is that benefiting you?** Students can get quick answers to their library questions in a pinch instead of needing to contact a person face to face or via chat. ### 11. Lib Answer Survey **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 21, 2018 **What do you like best about LibAnswers?** Its the platform required at the library I work at. It is pretty straightforward and easy to use. **What do you dislike about LibAnswers?** Not many patrons are aware of how to use it. This limits its use across campus. Since it acts as a replacement when staff is unavailable, it is difficult to spresd the information on our own. **What problems is LibAnswers solving and how is that benefiting you?** Frequently asked questions from patrons in the library, aswell as utilizing it to operate our color printing features, which is a premium product. ### 12. LibAnswers resource for librarians **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 12, 2017 **What do you like best about LibAnswers?** It puts library research guides, reference chat functionality, etc. in one place. **What do you dislike about LibAnswers?** I dislike that the time stamp is defaulted to 24 hour or "military" time. **What problems is LibAnswers solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are using LibAnswers to help record and categorize research help questions. In addition, we use it as an access point for the admin/editor side of our research guides. It benefits us by automatically recording statistics that are useful for our services. - [View LibAnswers pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/libanswers/reviews?section=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-06-14+11%3A28%3A22+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=bb9fcb0e-dead-453b-93ca-89ae50f15f88&secure%5Btoken%5D=f6ada9632d14028f2ae62af643e347ad3b856815be8406d4b4a992b59f767805&format=llm_user) ## Top LibAnswers Alternatives - [Follett Destiny Library Manager](https://www.g2.com/products/follett-software-follett-destiny-library-manager/reviews) - 4.3/5.0 (430 reviews) - [LibraryH3lp](https://www.g2.com/products/libraryh3lp/reviews) - 3.7/5.0 (5 reviews) - [Apollo ILS/LSP](https://www.g2.com/products/apollo-ils-lsp/reviews) - 4.8/5.0 (46 reviews)