An Accessit alternative, built for US independent schools.
Accessit is a well-liked, school-focused system used in 40+ countries. Here is what changes when you choose a system built for US independent schools, and what Lyra leaves out.
Accessit spans the world's schools. Lyra is built for US independent ones.
Accessit Library is a genuinely school-focused system with a long record. Access-It Software has been building it since 1994, and it runs in 4,000+ schools across 40+ countries, strongest in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and international schools. Accessit has been part of Follett Software since December 2022, and operates as a standalone product.
It is a broad, capable platform: embedded digital content, whole-school asset management, a native mobile app, a browser Kiosk, and prebuilt topic dashboards, sold through a demo and a sales conversation. Pricing comes through an estimate form rather than a number on the page, cover art comes through paid enrichment, and its publicly listed roster integrations lean toward UK and ANZ student-management systems rather than US SIS platforms.
Lyra is the other shape: built for US independent schools, not a global platform scaled to fit one. The price is published. Cover images are included. You import your catalog and roster yourself, with no sales call, and Vega, the assistant built into Lyra, answers questions about your collection without ever receiving patron data, which we publish field by field. Where Accessit gives you global scope and breadth, Lyra gives you fit.
A focused, two-column look.
The same questions a librarian actually asks when evaluating a system. Where Lyra does something differently, we say so plainly, and where Accessit already covers the basics, we say that too.
Comparison reflects publicly available information about Accessit as of July 2026, gathered for evaluation.
Accessit is a trademark of Access-It Software Limited, part of Follett Software. Lyra is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Access-It Software or Follett.
Where Lyra does less than Accessit.
Accessit is a strong, school-focused system, and it does a great deal that Lyra deliberately does not. Here is what Lyra leaves out that Accessit covers, so you can weigh whether any of it matters to you.
Digital content and eResources
Accessit embeds ebooks, audiobooks, and video, and searches databases like Britannica and Gale alongside your catalog. Lyra does not lend digital materials. If you use Sora, Lyra can list your OverDrive titles in its catalog from OverDrive's MARC records, and students open them in Sora. Other ebook providers aren't supported. Lyra can't show whether a copy is free or let students borrow from its catalog. If your school uses Sora and that would matter to you, tell us.
Asset management with depreciation
Accessit manages whole-school assets, with automatic depreciation, well beyond the library. Lyra manages the collection on your shelves.
Mobile app and Kiosk
Accessit ships a native iOS and Android app and a browser-based self-service Kiosk. Lyra runs in any browser instead.
Track record
Access-It has been doing this since 1994, across 40+ countries, and is backed by Follett Software. Lyra is new.
Accessit is established worldwide. Lyra is new.
That is the trade, and for the right school it is also the opportunity: help shape the product, pay half price for your first term, and work directly with the people building it. If a long global record and the widest feature set are high on your list, those are fair things to weigh, and we'd rather you know where we are than oversell it.
Read about founding partners
Questions schools ask.
Is Lyra a good alternative to Accessit?
For a US independent or private K–12 school that wants a focused, modern system with published pricing and self-serve setup, yes. Accessit is a capable, school-focused system with global reach and a much broader feature set; Lyra deliberately covers less and focuses on the daily work of a school library. If that full breadth (embedded digital content, whole-school asset management, or a native app) is central to how you run, those are the areas to weigh.
Does Accessit charge extra for cover images?
Cover art and record enrichment come through a paid third-party subscription, primarily SCIS, which charges an annual fee. Lyra includes cover images at no extra charge.
How much does Accessit cost?
Access-It does not publish Accessit pricing; you request a quote through an estimate form on their pricing page. Lyra publishes its pricing on the site.
Can I move my catalog from Accessit to Lyra?
Yes. Lyra imports a standard MARC file, and also the Excel workbook Accessit exports. It will try to match that report’s column names to Lyra’s, though the import guide’s templates are the cleaner path. Rosters sync via OneRoster. To export your records from Accessit, follow Access-It’s own documentation.
See how Lyra fits your library.
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