What you'll need

Lyra runs on equipment most libraries already own. There is nothing to install and no special hardware to buy. This page covers the three things you’ll want on hand: a device with a browser, a barcode scanner, and a printer for labels and cards.

A computer or tablet with a modern browser

Lyra is web-based, so it runs in the browser on hardware you already have. There is nothing to install. Any reasonably current computer or tablet with an up-to-date browser will do.

Because the catalog lives in the cloud, you’ll want a reliable internet connection. If the connection drops, Lyra cannot reach your catalog until it comes back.

Lyra is browser-only. There is no native mobile app, so don’t go looking for one in an app store. On a phone or tablet, just open Lyra in the browser you already use.

A barcode scanner

Almost any USB barcode scanner works with Lyra. Because Lyra is a web app and a scanner acts as a “keyboard wedge” (the computer treats it as a very fast keyboard), there are no drivers to install and nothing Lyra-specific to set up. You plug it in and it types the barcode into whatever field has the cursor. Lyra’s scanning screens allow for this: they take the cursor on load and pull it back to the scan bar if you have clicked a button or a row, so the scan still lands.

This also means the scanner from your previous ILS almost certainly still works. If you’re coming from Destiny, Alexandria, or another system, keep your old scanner and try it. There is no proprietary lock-in.

If you are buying one:

• Corded USB is the cheapest and most reliable choice, and it’s all most libraries need.
• Wireless (a 2.4GHz dongle or Bluetooth) costs a bit more. It mainly helps when you want to walk the stacks during inventory instead of carrying items back to the desk.

You don’t need to spend much. A basic scanner is inexpensive from any general retailer.

No scanner? The camera works

Every scanning screen — Check Out, Check In, Inventory, and the two holds screens — has a button: Scan with the camera button under the scan bar on any device with a camera. It opens a full-screen scanner that reads the barcode formats libraries actually use (Code 128, Code 39, Codabar, EAN-13/UPC-A, and QR codes), and each read goes through exactly what a wedge scan goes through.

A dedicated scanner is still the fastest thing at a busy desk. The camera earns its place away from the desk: circulating from a phone, or walking the shelves during inventory without carrying books back to a computer.

The one thing to check

Your scanner should send an key: Enter (a carriage return) automatically after each barcode, so the field submits on its own and you can scan straight on to the next item. Most scanners do this out of the box; a few need you to scan a short configuration barcode from their manual to turn it on. If a scan fills the field but nothing happens until you press key: Enter yourself, that setting is what to change. Scanning walks through this and other scanner quirks.

Label printing

Lyra makes its own labels and cards as PDFs, so you don’t need a dedicated label printer. An ordinary inkjet or laser printer and a sheet of label stock are enough. You print three kinds of output, each laid out onto a standard 8.5” × 11” sheet:

• Barcode labels for item copies. Supported sheets are Avery 5167 (80 labels per sheet, 1.75” × 0.5”, the default), Avery 5160 (30 per sheet, 2.625” × 1”), and Avery 5163 (10 per sheet, 4” × 2”).
• Spine labels for call numbers. Supported sheets are Demco 169548 (98 per sheet, 1” × 0.75”, the default), The Library Store CN16-0750 (50 per sheet, 1.5” × 1”), and Avery 5160.
• Library cards for student and staff IDs. Supported sheets are Avery 5371 (10 cards per sheet, 3.5” × 2”, the default) and Avery 5160 (30 per sheet).

Pick the label sheet that matches the stock in your printer and Lyra lays the PDF out to fit it. You can also tell Lyra which label to start on, so a partly-used sheet doesn’t go to waste.

If you already have a dedicated label printer, such as a DYMO LabelWriter, Lyra prints to its rolls too: each label is its own page, cut to the label’s size. See Label printer rolls.

For the full workflow, see Labels and printing for item barcode and spine labels, and Barcodes and cards for library cards.