<div dir="ltr">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">I am placing the responses in the body of the email rather than an attachment for those who get the digest version of the list. Results were fairly mixed. Before sending my questions out I was leaning towards LibCal and I think that's where I'm still leaning. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Thanks for responding! </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Room Reservation Software Responses<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Google Calendar – 3<br>
Plymouth Rocket – 2<br>
LibCal – 3<br>
Evanced - 3<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">----<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Currently, we just use Google Calendars and differentiate
between different rooms with different colors.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">---<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">We use Plymouth Rocket's room reservation/events calendar
package at Peter White Public Library in Marquette. (<a href="http://www.pwpl.info/" target="_blank" style="color:blue;text-decoration:underline">www.pwpl.info</a>) They are
OK, but I am not a fan. I think the company lacks a designer/programming
with a strong sense of visual aesthetic. The fee structure is also
annoying as it's not set up for an unlimited number of room reservations.<br>
<br>
I had set up a free events calendar plugin that I liked better but had to abandon
as the functionality of having the calendar tied to the room reservation
couldn't be denied, and the plymouth rocket room reservation isn't available
without the calendar. It was the most affordable that offered all the
functionality we needed at the time.<br>
<br>
We have a rather complicated room reservation policy that involves some equipment
reservation and some fees for some rooms and not others. So first thing I
would advise would be to establish a simple room reservation policy.<br>
<br>
There is a free library-specific room reservation wordpress plug-in called Book
A Room that I was intrigued by. It was very new when I was doing my research
a couple of years ago, and I didn't have the coding background to adjust it to
my needs. I think it has undergone modification and improvement since
then. Worth a look.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">---<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">We used to use Evanced Spaces (which was a nightmare) and
now we use LibCal. We have 9 study rooms that are in constant use and I like
that LibCal lets you see at a glance what is available and when. I also prefer
LibCal's "self service" room booking feature to Evanced's. LibCal is
also WAY cheaper than Spaces.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">---<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">At the last three libraries I worked at, Evanced was the
preferred software of choice. We had a separate "Event Type" for
Private/Patron Reservation and placed patron contact info in the "Internal
Notes" field along with any other pertinent info, like who approved the
reservation, when it was booked, and what number of reservation it was (one of
my libraries had to limit the number of reservations per month because people
were abusing the system).<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">At my current library, we use the Google sharepoint calendar
for room reservations, but it can be quite tedious juggling separate room
reservation and program calendars for the same room.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">---<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">We use Spaces from Demco, and it's been working well. We
also use Signup for our events calendar, and the two work together so we don't
double-book any rooms. Very convenient, and our patrons like being able to
reserve rooms and register for programs online. Hope that helps!<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">---<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Attached is Dexter's meeting room use material. The
reservation form is for our larger space which is a 300 capacity meeting room
on the lower level which can be split into two smaller rooms. We just use
Google calendar for scheduling.<br>
<br>
The third document is for our 1-4 person group study rooms. We have three
of these rooms. Scheduling is on a separate Google calendar managed by
adult ref staff.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">---<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">I've used Evanced at a previous library (now a Demco product: <a href="https://www.demcosoftware.com/products/spaces/" target="_blank" style="color:blue;text-decoration:underline">https://www.demcosoftware.com/products/spaces/</a>)<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Good software in my experience. Kind of costly... <span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">We use Plymouth Rocket now. Can't say I would recommend it
based on user experience, but cost is low...<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">I've only used Plymouth Rocket in small doses, I'm hiring a
new admin assist right now...so more than usual. Reporting flexibility is my
biggest complaint about the product. <span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">But, I was in on all the Evanced setup. There are so many
options it can be a bit intimidating. And, you can get just about any report
you can dream up! <span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">But, really most of this decision will come down to how much
you can spend. If we had some extra cash, I'd go back to Evanced/Spaces in a
heartbeat. <span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">But, there are other funding priorities for us right now.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">---<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Here at Herrick we recently switched to LibCal for our
calendar and room reservation system (<a href="https://libcal.herrickdl.org/calendar?cid=7016&t=m&d=0000-00-00&cal=7016" target="_blank" style="color:blue;text-decoration:underline">https://libcal.herrickdl.org/calendar?cid=7016&t=m&d=0000-00-00&cal=7016</a>).
I'm not sure about cost, but the end user experience is very good. I know it
was less expensive than we thought it would be. We use it to schedule 1
auditorium, 2 meeting rooms, and 3 study rooms, all of which have different
rules governing when they can be reserved and for how long. The software
handles all of that for us. It also auto-populates reservations onto our
calendar. If you would like more information, let me know!<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">---<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">We are using LibCal from Springshare for both our Room
Reservations and Calendaring for Events. We are very happy with it.
We have found them to be very responsive and the price was very affordable
compared to other products on the market. We had almost given up on
finding a product that would suit our needs. We were looking into
building something custom. LibCal did a huge update of their product and
added almost everything we wanted.<span></span></p>
<br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:12.8px">Devin Erlandson, MLIS (she/her)</span><div style="font-size:12.8px">Assistant Director</div><div style="font-size:12.8px">Allegan District Library</div><div style="font-size:12.8px">269-673-4625</div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><a href="http://alleganlibrary.org/" target="_blank">alleganlibrary.org</a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
</div>