My Prestalib App · Android & iOS with NFC
Your library’s app turns the student’s phone into the reader: hold it close to the item and the loan or return is recorded, with RFID security handled automatically. Android and iOS, branded for your university and compatible with most modern library management systems via SIP2.
RFID through the phone’s NFC reader · Automatic security handling · Languages included
Video · 80 seconds · English narration
Sign-in, borrowing, the two-step return inside the library, the digital card and how it connects to your library system. No meeting needed.
Recorded in the “Biblioteca Prestalib” demo app; sample books and events are in Spanish. Each university gets its own app, with its branding and languages. Try the interactive demo · Free 30-day pilot with your own books
The phone is the RFID reader
The reader travels with the user: the phone’s own NFC reads the item’s RFID tag, right at the shelf and on any floor. The app records the transaction in your library system and handles security automatically.
The user opens your library app on their phone and chooses the transaction.
The built-in NFC reader reads the book or library item’s RFID tag.
The loan or return is recorded and RFID security is handled automatically.
The app requires the user to be inside the library to complete a self-return. Once the return is recorded, they leave the item at the designated return point.
NFC reading requires a compatible phone and HF RFID tags: a phone’s NFC cannot read UHF tags. The app also identifies items by barcode with the camera, so in libraries without security gates it works without RFID.
THE LIBRARY, CLOSE AT HANDOne app. The services they need.
This is one of Prestalib’s two solutions; the other is Prestalib Smartphones, on library-owned devices. If you are still weighing options, read our guide to library self-checkout.
Two solutions
The difference is who owns the device that reads the item. Both connect to your library management system, and many libraries offer both at once.
The user’s own phone
An Android and iOS app with your university’s branding. The student holds their phone close to the item and its NFC reads the RFID tag.
Library-owned devices
Your library’s smartphones and tablets configured as shared self-service points, placed wherever you decide.
Not sure which one fits? Compare both solutions in detail.
Alerts on the phone and in the app
The app reminds users on their phone of what they must not forget and shows your library’s notices on its home screen, which you can change at any time without publishing a new version.
Through your own library app, with your branding and in each user’s language.
From product to practice
Explore public examples of Prestalib on users’ own phones.
Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
The university explains how students use the app for borrowing, returns, renewals and catalogue access.
View the university service
Universidad del País Vasco
A published app for account access, borrowing and returns with a compatible NFC phone.
View the App Store listingThese are examples of university use. Features and configuration vary by institution.
Compatible with most modern library systems via SIP2
Prestalib is compatible with most modern library management systems via SIP2. We connect the app to the one you already use, keeping your accounts, items and circulation policies.
Explore integration →Supported from the start
Your library system, RFID, authentication and the services you want to offer.
We adapt the app or the devices to your branding and connect the agreed features.
We validate borrowing, returns and permissions with test items and accounts.
We prepare implementation, support and updates.
Before you get started
It is self-checkout where the RFID reader is not in a machine but in the user’s own phone. On a compatible handset, the built-in NFC reader reads the item’s RFID tag: the app records the loan in the library management system and handles the security alarm automatically.
It is not essential. The user’s phone can cover self-checkout and self-return on any floor or site without installing hardware. If your library already has machines, Prestalib coexists with them: it connects to the same library management system and adds another channel.
In most cases, yes: Prestalib works with modern library management systems via SIP2. We build the connection to the one you already use, through SIP2 or other available mechanisms, keeping your accounts, items and circulation policies.
Yes. Each app is built to order with the institution’s visual identity and published on Google Play and the App Store as that library’s own application. It includes nine languages and can be translated into more.
My Prestalib App starts at €9,800 + VAT implementation and €3,600 + VAT per year licence, on a 1, 2 or 3-year contract of your choice, with no per-user pricing and languages included; the final amount depends on your libraries and sites. Prestalib Smartphones starts at €2,000 + VAT per device. The pricing page gives you a detailed formal quote instantly.
Your next step
Starting prices on show, a compatibility check and a formal PDF quote for your university, without waiting for a call: the access link goes to your institutional email.
