Alexandria Setup Options
Review these setup options to understand how you want your library hosted and managed.
Hosting Options
How many hours have you invested into creating and maintaining your library’s catalog? The number is likely in the thousands, if not tens of thousands, of hours. What would happen if you lost all that data? Protecting your data is a huge responsibility, which is why we offer Cloud Hosting. Though, Self Hosting is available as well.
Allow COMPanion to manage all of your data, monthly updates, backups, and maintenance. Best for users who want a hassle-free experience.
Have complete control over your data, including backups, updates, and maintenance. An option for users who already have established servers and dedicated IT professionals.
Catalog Management
Your catalog is extremely important to your library. In fact, it’s one of the most important assets you have. We offer two superb catalog management solutions: Centralized Catalog and Distributed Catalog (with the option of using an Alexandria Controller).
Houses multiple sites in a single database on a central data station. Best for libraries that want to share information with other library collections.
Houses your sites in separate databases that are managed on either one data station (Alexandria Controller) or individual data stations. Best for libraries that want to maintain complete autonomy.
Houses all of your sites and databases independently on a single data station Part of our Distributed Catalog model.
 | Alexandria has multiple ways to indicate “where” a patron or copy is associated with. The two main types are what we call sites and locations. We recommend reading our Site vs. Location article, as this decision will affect which catalog management setup you choose. Also, if you’re setting up your library as a resource center, take a look at our Resource Centers article. |