Library Technology Guides

Grove announces the release of Aspen 25.04 with 75 improvements and enhancements for libraries. The Aspen 25.04 monthly release was truly a community achievement with 75 contributions from 17 developers from six different organizations. Enhancements covered more than two dozen different areas of Aspen. Among Grove's two dozen contributions are additional branding options for the LiDA app, updates on how records are searched and displayed, and working with the team at LibraryThing on an Aspen Talpa integration. [Full Announcement].

SWAN Library Services partners with Grove for hosting Aspen Discovery and Aspen LiDA. SWAN Library Services, which serves 100 public libraries in the Chicagoland area, is now hosting Aspen Discovery and Aspen LiDA with Grove for Libraries. With Grove's founders having over 25 years of collective experience developing and hosting with the Aspen codebase, they are the best positioned to provide both a stable and performant environment for Aspen, as well as continue the innovative development that SWAN and libraries like SWAN know is necessary to ensure patrons have the best experience possible using their library. [Full Announcement].

Grove adds event functionality, series records, updates to web resources, and more to the Aspen 25.03 release. Aspen has always been about providing choice to libraries, and the 25.03 release includes multiple features that give libraries more options on what technologies they use and how information is presented to patrons. Grove will be presenting on all of these enhancements at the upcoming April 10th webinar, What's New in Aspen. [Full Announcement].

Grove adds local administrators to Aspen, increasing security options for all libraries using Aspen Discovery and Aspen LiDA. Grove for Libraries, Aspen's premier development, support, and hosting organization, announced the Aspen 25.02 release, which includes nearly 100 updates for Aspen libraries. [Full Announcement].

Grove adds new formats, support for multiple pickup locations at a branch, LiDA Updates, and more to the Aspen 25.01 Release. Libraries are constantly evolving in both the materials and services they offer to patrons, and it is crucial that library discovery software keeps up with these changes. Grove was pleased to partner with Aspen libraries to add several new formats to Aspen Discovery as well as support for Polaris Pickup Locations and display of volume information for holds in Aspen's app, LiDA. New formats for Aspen Discovery include support for Yoto Players, Toniebox Audio Players, and WhaZoodles from PlayAway. Support for these formats was developed with input and expertise from the Aspen Cataloger's Group. [Full Announcement].

Grove adds a Year-In-Review feature (Spotify Wrapped for the Library!) and nearly 50 enhancements to the Aspen 24.12 Release. With the growing popularity of Year-In-Review features such as Spotify Wrapped, Grove organized a volunteer community initiative to develop Aspen's own Year-In-Review feature for libraries called 2024 Shelved! This year's stats include a patron's total number of checkouts, the money they saved by using the library, their top genres, top series, top author, and more. [Full Announcement].

Grove announces hosting and implementation services for Aspen Discovery and Aspen LiDA. Grove, Aspen's premier development company, announced that they now offer hosting and implementation services for Aspen Discovery and Aspen LiDA. Grove's hosting and support packages are designed to give libraries choices around the services that best meet their needs. Grove offers several options for hosting, from full implementation and support packages with server management and development included to packages for libraries and consortia that want to host their own Aspen and just need some backup and advanced support. Libraries can also share unused support and development hours with the community to help fund new features for Aspen. [Full Announcement].

Grove adds access to even more library resources in Aspen Discovery and LiDA with the 24.11 Release. One of Aspen's primary goals is to be the single place to discover all of a library's resources and services. Grove furthered this goal in the 24.11 release by providing a way for libraries to offer access to more than one OverDrive collection for a single library, access to search CloudSource OA directly from Aspen, and support for the ILL platform SHAREit from Auto-Graphics. [Full Announcement].

Grove collaborates with libraries to deliver new features for Aspen 24.10. Grove announces several new features coming to Aspen with the 24.10 release, including Cost Savings for Patrons, automated holds for Materials Requests, and updates to allow administrators to manage any combination of library locations. [Full Announcement].

Grove Delivers Top Community Priority to Aspen 24.09. Grove announces the development of a highly-requested feature that allows libraries to customize the order of formats in search results for the 24.09 Aspen release. This was one of the top priorities of the Aspen Library Community and allows libraries to further adapt Aspen to meet the needs of their patrons. In addition to allowing for customized format sorting, Grove also contributed multiple other developments including support for self-check functionality within LiDA Scan and Go using the Sierra APIs, sponsored by the Minuteman Library Network, updates to the Palace Project integration, and updates to how field locking works within Aspen. [Full Announcement].

Announcing Grove: Aspen Discovery development for libraries. Announcing the formation of Grove, a library software development company focusing on Aspen Discovery. With more than 1,200 libraries using Aspen Discovery, there is an increasing demand for development to meet individual and collective library needs. Jordan Fields and Mark Noble plan to work closely with ByWater Solutions on meeting the development ideas of their Aspen partners in addition to working directly with libraries to execute on their needs and visions. [Full Announcement].