Library Technology Guides

ByWater Solutions partners with Open Fifth to simplify SIP administration to Koha community users. ByWater Solutions, an open source community contributor and America's forefront provider of open source library technology support, announced that they have partnered with Open Fifth to simplify SIP Administration to Koha Community Users. This feature includes a new SIP2 module that allows staff users with SIP2 permission to manage SIP2 institutions, accounts, and system preference overrides directly in Koha Administration. [Full Announcement].

ByWater Solutions commits to enhancing speed and responsiveness in Koha. ByWater Solutions, America's forefront provider of Open Source library technology support, announced today the funding of several enhancements to increase speed and stability in Koha. This strategic plan comes in response to valuable feedback from our partners, highlighting the need for enhanced speed and responsiveness. [Full Announcement].

Akron-Summit County Public Library is live on Koha and Aspen Discovery with ByWater Support. ByWater Solutions, America's forefront provider of Open Source library technology support, announced that the Akron-Summit County Public Library in Ohio is now live on the Koha ILS and Aspen Discovery with ByWater Support. ByWater Solutions completed the migration of over 470,000 bibliographic records and 1,210,075 item records providing the library with customized implementation and training for their open source solutions. [Full Announcement].

ByWater Solutions collaborates with Hoopla Digital to bring consortia integration to Aspen Discovery. ByWater Solutions, America's forefront provider of open source library technology support, announced today that they have collaborated with Hoopla Digital, the only all-in-one digital media app for public libraries and their patrons, to enhance its existing API integration with Aspen Discovery. This integration brings support for consortia using new Hoopla API endpoints. [Full Announcement].

January 2026 Librarian of the Month. Every month ByWater Solutions recognizes a librarian that has made an impact on their library and community. The January 2026 Librarian of the Month is Arturo Longoria, Web Administrator for the Texas State Law Library. [Full Announcement].

ByWater Solutions 2025 Year in Review. 2025 was another fantastic year for ByWater Solutions! We achieved significant growth and progress, as our team met all of our goals for the year and successfully brought on close to 60 new library contracts representing more than one hundred twenty locations. Both Koha and Aspen continued to grow alongside our libraries through strong community driven development and meaningful advances in software functionality, while dozens of new team members joined ByWater to ensure we could meet the evolving needs of our customers. We also made major leaps forward in terms of scalability and long term sustainability, strengthening our infrastructure, security, and onboarding processes in ways that will benefit our libraries well into the future. These improvements proved critical during an extremely challenging year for the entire library automation industry, as aggressive Ai and bot attacks created widespread disruption. ByWater was proud to be one of the first companies to communicate and mitigate these attacks using our transparent and honest support processes. Additionally, the loss of funding from the IMLS created serious challenges for many of our library customers, and we were proud to provide financial support in numerous cases to help libraries navigate that difficult period. We closed the year inspired by the amazing KohaCon conference in New Zealand, which several of our team members were able to attend and which reinforced the sense of community, participation, and sharing that brought us into this community in the first place. Thank you to all of our partners who support us and our mission to provide higher levels of service to libraries utilizing open source solutions and happy 2026! [Full Announcement].

Koha Community Announces Global Bug Squashing Week. A global bug squashing week is where the Koha Community focuses on getting bugs and patches moving in the right direction. This year we will have everything from getting started in the Koha Community to Documentation, Development, and Squashing bugs. You can read more about the week on the Koha Community Wiki Page dedicated to all events. [Full Announcement].

ByWater Solutions announces January 2026 Community Giveback winner. Each month, ByWater Solutions selects one library to be awarded $500. These funds are meant to support libraries and their communities and fill gaps in funding to further library goals. The January 2026 winner of the ByWater Community Giveback, the Little Elm Public Library in Texas. The funds will be used to support the purchase of new homeschool educational resources for the library. [Full Announcement].

ByWater Solutions at the NJLA/NJASL Joint Conference. ByWater Solutions, an open-source community contributor and America's forefront provider of Open Source library technology support, announced that team members will be at the NJLA/NJASL Joint Conference from February 17-19th at the Hard Rock Casino in Atlantic City. [Full Announcement].

ByWater Solutions welcomes Adam (AJ) Jarrell. ByWater Solutions, an open-source community contributor and America's forefront provider of Open-Source library technology support announced that Adam (AJ) Jarrell has joined the ByWater Solutions team as a Systems Administrator. [Full Announcement].

CommunityGiftED Series 2026. Are you looking to connect with other staff and librarians to enhance your knowledge of all things Koha? Community GiftED is an initiative that allows librarians to learn from each other and give back to their fellow partners. With webinars and sessions taught by experienced Koha Partners, you'll have the opportunity to expand your skills and network with like-minded professionals. Get ready to embark on a journey of growth and collaboration in just 30-minute sessions. [Full Announcement].

ByWater Solutions partners with Novare Library Services to provide Library Cybersecurity Webinar Series. ByWater Solutions is partnering with Novare Library Services to provide a Digital Defense: Strengthening Library Cybersecurity Webinar Series in Spring 2026. This will be a six-part series featuring a variety of guest presenters speaking on a range of cybersecurity topics. These sessions are open to anyone and will be recorded. [Full Announcement].

December 2025 Librarian of the Month. Every month ByWater Solutions recognizes a librarian that has made an impact on their library and community. The December 2025 Librarian of the Month is Jen Tucker, Library Manager at the Southlake Public Library in Texas. [Full Announcement].

ByWater Solutions announces December 2025 Community Giveback Winner. Each month, ByWater Solutions selects one library to be awarded $500. These funds are meant to support libraries and their communities and fill gaps in funding to further library goals. The December 2025 winner of the ByWater Community Giveback, the Plum Creek Library System in Minnesota. The funds will be used to support the purchase of new STEM kits for the library. [Full Announcement].

Kanawha County Public Library is Live on Koha and Aspen Discovery with ByWater Support. ByWater Solutions, America's forefront provider of Open Source library technology support, announced that the Kanawha County Public Library in West Virginia is now live on the Koha ILS and Aspen Discovery with ByWater Support. ByWater Solutions completed the migration of over 184,005 bibliographic records and 350,000 item records providing the library with customized implementation and training for their open source solutions. [Full Announcement].

ByWater Solutions' partners sponsor development in Koha 25.11 Release. ByWater Solutions acknowledges its partners who sponsored developments in the Koha Community 25.11 release, including Athens County Public Libraries, Cape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing, and Cuyahoga County Public Library. [Full Announcement].

The Norfolk Public Library is live on Koha and Aspen Discovery with ByWater support. ByWater Solutions, America's forefront provider of Open Source library technology support, announced that Norfolk Public Library in Nebraska is now live on the Koha ILS and Aspen Discovery with ByWater Support. ByWater Solutions completed the migration of over 101,000 bibliographic records and 105,000 item records providing the library with customized implementation and training for their open source solutions. [Full Announcement].

KohaCon25 in New Zealand wrap-up. Several team members from the ByWater Solutions attended the KohaCon25 in Wellington, NZ! The Conference was 7 days focusing on presentations, cultural events and working together. The program featured presentations from the past, present and future, culminating 25 years and beyond of Koha. [Full Announcement].

Aspen Community Gathering Monthly Meeting - 2026 Dates. Join us the second Thursday of the month in 2026 for the Aspen Community Gathering - a community meeting to discuss Aspen features, upcoming releases, and how libraries are leveraging Aspen. Anyone using Aspen or interested in learning more about Aspen is welcome to attend. [Full Announcement].

We are hiring in our Sales Department. ByWater Solutions was created with the express goal of changing the way libraries interact with their software and the vendors who support them. We believe that libraries deserve to have access to personalized, comprehensive support at a reasonable cost. The company is looking for a dynamic individual to join our Sales Department, working directly with potential and existing library partners. As our new Sales Development Coordinator, you will independently identify, develop, and cultivate relationships with libraries across North America for the various Open Source products we support. [Full Announcement].