Rowan-

Having a hosted catalog and circ system seems very easy to do.  There are several open source library systems such as Koha and Evergreen that might suit your needs:

http://www.koha.org/

http://open-ils.org/

Are there volunteers present the entire time the library is open to borrowers?  Or are you counting on borrowers having smartphones to complete self-checkout?

-Esme
--
Esme Cowles <[log in to unmask]>

"I don't need to be forgiven." -- The Who, Baba O'Reilly

On Sep 23, 2011, at 3:27 PM, rowan eisner wrote:

> Apologies if this is the wrong forum, but if anyone can point me in the
> right direction...
> 
> We have an unstaffed library and can't leave a computer in it. Is there a
> way to automate
> 
> 1) with no computer - do circulation and catalog in the cloud. Volunteers
> bring in laptops to do circulation and clients access catalog with iphones
> 2) that doesn't cost a fortune
> 
> Thanks so much
> 
> Rowan