What is My Prestalib App?
It is a branded library app for self-checkout and self-return using the user’s phone NFC reader. It can also bring together the catalogue, account, holds, renewals and alerts.
Learn more →Help centre
Answers to make
an informed decision.
Answers to what libraries usually ask, the app video, the interactive demo and an assistant that replies straight away.
Frequently asked questions
The essentials, explained.
Each library’s technical requirements are confirmed during project assessment.
How does self-checkout work?
The user signs in, holds a compatible NFC phone near the item’s RFID tag and the app records the transaction in the library system. RFID security handling is validated during implementation.
Learn more →Can an item be returned from anywhere?
No. Self-return takes place inside the library, in two steps: the phone first reads the fixed return-point tag (we supply those tags) and then the book’s tag. The return is recorded and the book is left at the designated point.
Learn more →Does it work on Android and iPhone?
Yes, the app is published for Android and iPhone. RFID self-checkout needs a phone with NFC and HF tags; we check with your team which phones and tags work, and the free pilot is designed for exactly that.
Learn more →Will it integrate with our library system?
Both My Prestalib App and Prestalib Smartphones work with most modern library management systems through SIP2. They run in production today with Ex Libris Alma, Koha, OCLC WMS and AbsysNet. With another system, we check that SIP2 is enabled and review its circulation policies before confirming integration.
Learn more →Which RFID technology does the user app support?
My Prestalib App, installed on the user’s phone, supports only HF RFID tags readable by that phone’s built-in NFC reader. A phone’s NFC reader cannot read UHF tags. Exact phone and tag compatibility is validated for each project.
Learn more →Does Prestalib Smartphones support HF and UHF?
Yes. Prestalib Smartphones devices can read HF RFID using the device’s built-in NFC and UHF RFID through an external reader placed next to the device and connected by Bluetooth. The specific reader and tag setup is validated during implementation.
Learn more →How do the app and Prestalib Smartphones differ in RFID compatibility?
The user app reads only HF RFID using the phone’s built-in NFC; it cannot read UHF. Prestalib Smartphones supports HF through built-in NFC and UHF through an external Bluetooth reader next to the device. Devices or readers and tags are checked during implementation.
Learn more →Does the app work without RFID or security gates?
Yes. The app reads the item’s barcode with the phone camera. If the library has no security gates there is no alarm to handle, and borrowing and returns work the same way. If there are gates, we review the case before you buy.
Learn more →What else do you build for libraries besides self-checkout?
Prestalib Solutions: an item locator on the library floor plan, new-acquisitions showcase, course reading lists, automations with your library system’s APIs, an institutional repository with DSpace and a library website. They run in production at Universidad Complutense de Madrid (locator, new acquisitions and reading lists) and IE University (repository and library website); from €2,900 + VAT plus an annual fee, with 15% off when bought with the app.
Learn more →What happens to the RFID security alarm?
For NFC borrowing and returns, the app handles the RFID tag’s security state. The library’s tags and gates are checked before launch. Reading a barcode alone does not change RFID security.
Learn more →Can we use our branding and languages?
Yes. The app is customised with the institution’s identity. It includes nine languages (Spanish, English, Catalan, Basque, Galician, Portuguese, French, Italian and German), chosen by each user, and can be translated into others.
Learn more →Can we send notifications to users?
The app sends a phone reminder before a loan is due or a calendar event starts, and shows library notices (opening hours, closures, emergencies) on its home screen, which can be updated without publishing a new version. Push notification campaigns are in preparation.
Learn more →What if users do not want to install an app?
Prestalib Smartphones turns library-owned devices into shared borrowing and return points, with nothing for users to install. It is Prestalib’s other solution, on a par with My Prestalib App: it serves visitors, people not using their own phone and libraries with UHF tags.
Learn more →What is Barcode to RFID recorder?
It is a tool for writing an item identifier to an RFID tag with a compatible phone. Device, tag, encoding format and security requirements must be checked first.
Learn more →What is included in implementing My Prestalib App?
Implementation of the user app includes development and customisation, connection to the library management system and institutional user sign-in, deployment of web services, publication on the App Store and Google Play, and the testing needed to make the application work in production. It takes about three weeks from when we have the information and access we need, and support is then 24/7, with a response in under 4 hours. The exact technical scope is confirmed with the university.
Learn more →Can we try it before buying?
Yes: with a free 30-day pilot. We prepare the app with your library’s branding for Android (and iPhone through an Apple test invitation when available) and you test it with your own books and phones. It reads your real HF RFID tags or barcodes, does not connect to your library system and does not change your books’ security tags. At the end you get a compatibility report and a quote. No cost and no contract.
Learn more →Can I see the app without a meeting?
Yes. In the website’s interactive demo you borrow and return a book in your browser, with the same steps as on the phone, and an 80-second video shows the whole flow with English narration. If you then want to test it with your own books, request the free 30-day pilot; and if you would rather see it with us, you can book a 30-minute video call in our calendar from the contact page.
Learn more →Do you work through resellers in other countries?
No. Prestalib sells directly to each university, in any country, with no intermediaries. We handle the quote, contract, implementation and support ourselves, remotely and in writing in your language. We invoice from Spain, in euros or US dollars.
Learn more →How do you handle personal data and security?
Prestalib acts as data processor under the GDPR and signs a data processing agreement with each university. The app shows users their own data, read from the library system and institutional sign-in; no location data is processed: returns inside the library are checked by reading a fixed tag. The web services run in the AWS region closest to the library (within the EU for EU customers). We send our IT security pack and answer the university’s supplier questionnaires. If your process requires specific certifications, write to us and we will send you the details.
Learn more →What does our procurement team need?
The IT, security and procurement page has the supplier details for Smart Areas Tech, S.L., the contract terms and VAT treatment: 21% in Spain, reverse charge elsewhere in the EU with a VAT number, and no Spanish VAT outside the EU. We can follow your supplier onboarding and procurement procedure, and we send English versions of the terms and data processing agreement on request.
Learn more →How much does My Prestalib App cost?
From €9,800 implementation and €3,600 per year licence, on a 1, 2 or 3-year contract of your choice, with no per-user pricing and institutional sign-in and languages included. The final amount depends on your libraries and sites. All + VAT; pay the whole term upfront for 5% off over 2 years or 10% over 3 years. The pricing page gives you your detailed formal quote instantly.
Learn more →How much does Prestalib Smartphones cost?
Prestalib Smartphones starts at €2,000 + VAT per device set up as a self-checkout point, with maintenance from €900 + VAT per device per year. Anti-theft fitting, a supplied NFC smartphone and the external UHF reader are added in the quote.
Learn more →How do we purchase Prestalib?
No sign-up: on the pricing page you choose the solution and size, and instantly get a formal quote with a reference number, valid for 30 days. From that same quote you request the order with your legal name, tax ID and signatory, and we send you the contract and invoice. Public universities can follow their own procurement procedure. Nothing is charged until compatibility is confirmed with your vendor.
Learn more →Video · 80 seconds · English narration
See the whole app in under a minute and a half.
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
Sample videos
See Prestalib in action.
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My Prestalib App sample video
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Short sample video
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Your next step
Your quote,
in two minutes.
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.