Database management for libraries
Every database you pay for, accounted for.
RefBytes A-Z keeps the contracts, invoices, and renewal dates for every subscription, puts vendor COUNTER reports next to your own click counts, and records every change your staff make. The A-Z page patrons search is built from the same list, so it's never out of date.
Import your current list from a spreadsheet and see it live on day one. No credit card to start.
Behind the list
The list is the easy part.
The work is everything behind it: contracts buried in inboxes, usage scattered across a dozen vendor portals, and no record of who changed what. RefBytes A-Z keeps all of it with the database it belongs to.
S Subscriptions & renewals
Renewals that don't depend on one person's memory.
Each vendor keeps its contacts, agreements, and invoices together, with the signed PDF attached. When one contract pays for several databases, split the cost evenly, by percentage, or by amount, so you know what each one really costs.
- Reminder emails 90, 30, and 7 days before a contract ends, or at the lead times you choose.
- A warning when a contract has ended but the databases it covers are still live.
- Unpaid and overdue invoices on the dashboard, and spending by vendor and funding source.
- Vendor trials that hide themselves when they end and ask staff to subscribe or retire them.
U Usage & cost per use
Know what's worth the money before the renewal is due.
Every click on your public page is counted without identifying anyone. Add a vendor's SUSHI credentials and we pull its COUNTER 5 or 5.1 reports every month, so your clicks and the vendor's figures sit side by side, compared with the year before.
- Cost per use from your own contracts, with the paid databases nobody uses at the top, ready to export for the board.
- Turnaways show where patrons hit a seat limit or a gap in the license: evidence for more seats at renewal.
- Unusual months flagged: a sudden zero usually means broken access, a spike usually means a bot.
- The searches that found nothing, so you can see what patrons expected you to have.
H Change history
Every change on the record, with a way back.
Every edit to databases, contracts, invoices, settings, and staff accounts is kept: who made it, when, and the old and new values. Imports, exports, COUNTER pulls, contract downloads, and sign-ins go in the same activity log.
- Revert a single change from a database's History tab, or restore a database someone deleted.
- Filter by person, record, event, or date, including what the scheduled jobs did.
- Four staff roles, from owner to read-only viewer, so only the right people can edit.
- When someone leaves, the vendor contacts, contracts, and history stay behind.
P The public page
Patrons find what you already pay for.
Your public page is built from the same records, so it's always current. It's quick on a phone, filters by subject and type, says plainly whether a library card is needed, and looks like the rest of your website.
- Smart search matches meaning, not just words, so "fix my car" finds Chilton.
- Lists for a class, a program, or an audience, built from rules or picked by hand, each with its own link.
- Up to three best bets per subject, with the right subject librarian's card beside them.
- Paste your website's address to pick up its logo, colors, header, and footer, or bring your own HTML and CSS.
Also included
- 01Access problems in one place
- Proxy outages, failing vendor links, and patron problem reports land on one Issues page, with an email the moment your proxy stops answering.
- 02Consortium sharing
- A consortium keeps shared databases in one place and pushes them to member libraries without overwriting their local edits.
- 03Your own domain
- Serve the list at databases.yourlibrary.org: point one DNS record at us and we handle the certificate.
- 04Permanent links
- Short addresses that survive renames, for guides, emails, and printed handouts.
- 05Embed anywhere
- A widget and read-only API put the list, or any one list, on your website, Subject Guides, or catalog.
- 06CSV in, CSV out
- Import your current spreadsheet with a preview before anything is saved. Export everything, any time.
- 07Print view
- A printable copy of the list, with each database's direct address, for the reference desk.
- 08WCAG 2.1 AA
- Keyboard navigable and screen-reader labelled on every page patrons see, with your colors checked for contrast.
Pricing
Flat annual pricing by library size
No per-database fees. Every plan includes contracts and renewals, usage reports with COUNTER, the full change history, CSV import, and email support.
$499 per year
- Up to 100 databases
- 3 staff users
- yourlibrary.az.refbytes.com
$1,399 per year
- Unlimited databases
- 20 staff users
- Custom domain (databases.yourlibrary.org)
- Priority support
- Read-only API and embeddable widget
- Smart search: patrons find databases by meaning, not just exact words
$3,499 per year
- Unlimited databases
- Unlimited staff users
- Custom domain (databases.yourlibrary.org)
- Priority support
- Read-only API and embeddable widget
- Smart search: patrons find databases by meaning, not just exact words
Every plan starts with a free 30-day trial. Discount for existing RefBytes hosting customers; consortium pricing on request.