Surpass

Not Too Old to Learn

Vorteile:

It appears to be very easy to use. As soon as we received our login information we started work inputting our books into the system.

Nachteile:

I haven't come across anything I don't like so far!

Review of Surpass

Kommentare: Easy to use, helpful staff. patrons of library know what book they are getting because they check it out themselves.

Vorteile:

Ease of use and fast customer support. Better experience for patrons

Nachteile:

Due dates don't always show correct date but not a big deal.

Surpass excels

Kommentare: I would rate it a 10 on a scale of 1-10.
We reviewed 49 systems before making a final decision to go with Surpass. Once we saw it, there was no question.

Vorteile:

Ease of use! Timely and detailed response form Surpass Knowledge experts!

Nachteile:

We can't get it operational fast enough - no fault of Surpass. The process is clearly defined.

Proceed with Caution

Vorteile:

I like the bright colors on the catalog. I also like that you can catalog books by just typing in the title and author.

Nachteile:

The follow-up by the Help Desk is pretty much non-existent. The chat feature does not work so if you put in a ticket, you have to log in again to see if your question has been answered. I was hoping it would send me an email. It is also very slow when checking in books.

Surpass out performs other library cloud-based platforms

Kommentare: Our PK-8 private elementary school library used the non-cloud based Surpass system for 15-20 years. When we decided to move to a cloud based platform, we looked at two other vendors before deciding that Surpass was by far the best option.

Vorteile:

I have used Surpass for the past fifteen months. Surpass is user friendly, intuitive, and easy to navigate. I have taught over thirty school volunteers to use this system with ease. I appreciate the prompt customer service when needed, either by phone or chat box. I can usually speak with a support person within five minutes.

Nachteile:

At this point, there is nothing that I like least about Surpass.

AFGS chooses Surpass

Kommentare: Surpass worked with us for over 4 months while we organized our library holdings we have accumulated over 40 years. They answered numerous questions and when we were ready they uploaded over 17000 items into our new catalog. After the initial upload they helped make changes to our setup so we and especially our patrons would gain mazximum benefit. Their help was always timely and with the utmost professionalism.

Vorteile:

The ability to organize our holdings into different categories of our own choosing. As a research organization is is important that our patrons can narrow their search for a specific book or record and surpass does a wonderful job in meeting this goal.

Nachteile:

I initially wanted to be able to search and see several items on the screen at one time. The Large, Medium and Small icon capability for the patrons choosing was not what we wanted but Surpass found a way to set the "samll" icon as a default. We also want to see the items summary along with the title and author when scrolling through a list of books or microfilms. We are not sure this can be accomplished at this time.

Surpass Support

Kommentare: Excellent! Our rep, [sensitive content hidden] was a big help and resolved our issue.

Vorteile:

Surpass Support goes beyond what is expected and is always professional and courteous

Nachteile:

All was good. I had no problems or issues.

First time experience with Surpass

Kommentare: This is my first experience with the Surpass library management system. I have used quite a few other systems in my long career as a librarian. So far I have been really impressed with the customer service whenever I have a question and the system is really intuitive and easy to use!

Vorteile:

The customer service has been astounding. Everyone has been super responsive and quick to answer all my questions!

Nachteile:

So far my experience has been excellent with Surpass, nothing bad to report.

Media Aide

Kommentare: Great. system, user friendly, many option for assistance with program \.

Vorteile:

Able to import entire class list into the system, [sensitive content hidden] from technical support was a big help.

Nachteile:

Still learning the system and wish there was a new user training already set up.

Surpass review

Kommentare: Support has proven to be very helpful and able to hlep

Vorteile:

Ease of use. Enter an ISBN and fills in fields

Nachteile:

Limit of entries allowed without being charged extra.

Great Library Software

Vorteile:

Easy to use, great tools to manage library works

Nachteile:

Didn't find any cons, excellent tools and software

Surpass for Retirement Centers

Kommentare: Surpass was implemented with employees at a Retirement Village but the library volunteer residents have learned the parts of it they need to on a day to day basis quite easily. Since it's based on the Cloud it can be accessed anywhere at any time.

Vorteile:

Surpass has many layers to it but can also be used very simply. The online and live chat help is critical for any database and the support is superb for Surpass.

Nachteile:

Missing all the great features that are sometimes buried until you have a question and then Support helps you find the answers

Surpass 2022-2023

Kommentare: It was a great year with them.

Vorteile:

Ease of use and excellent customer support!!

Nachteile:

I have one need that they don't do at this time...but maybe in the future!!! They try to work hard to meet the customers needs!!

Surpass Software used by a Non-profit national center for fiber art

Kommentare: Surpass benefits are their excellent service Surpass they offer. No matter what question I have, they answer quickly, or see if something in the cloud can be changed to help my unique problem.
I am a librarian at a non-profit national center for fiber art. We have a shop, classes, auditorium for guild gatherings, media room for producing online classes for our patrons, a library, a gift shop, three galleries for fiber art work, and a permanent Weaver's Guild group that has been in existence for over 75 years. Textile Center library has over 35,000 circulating materials.
We have received [SENSITIVE CONTENT]'s Weaving Loom Library Research project. She passed away, but entrusted Textile Center with her 18 giant notebooks and hundreds of bits of information about weaving looms. We are in the process of making this into .pdf files so we can add those to our library for anyone in the world who is interested in finding information about Weaving Looms will have access to that information.
I am not with an industry, so I picked Apparel and Fashion, but that is not what we are. Maybe add non-profit as a choice under "industry".

Vorteile:

It is getting easier to use, but I can always call or chat and get great help when I don't understand something. I really love the service. That is vital to an organization. When I don't understand, or wonder about how something works, I know I can chat with a real person at Surpass. They will always be helpful, professional, kind, and funny. Julie and I have quilting in common. Hope her quilt retreat was fun.

Nachteile:

I often need to print items, but there is "no printer" access, so I have to copy and paste to word to print what I need.

Customer service is key!

Kommentare: My experience with Surpass has been very positive.

Vorteile:

We began using the Cloud-based Surpass about a year ago. It's works well for our mid-size (15,000 book) library. Once I became familiar with its capabilities, I enjoyed its speed and accuracy. We've had a few glitches and a bit of a learning curve on my part, but Surpass customer support has been knowledgeable and supportive in getting through each issue. They are professional, quick to respond, and they definitely know their stuff. My favorite feature is the ability to customize our own site for our school with text and photos. I also like the ability to communicate with our students' families via email through Surpass. The Dashboard feature is also a great way to start the day with a synopsis of the library.

Nachteile:

Showing my age here but -- I wish there was a hard copy user's manual of Surpass Cloud's capabilities. I used the manual/binder all the time for the previous version, making notes on annual processes, etc. I really miss that old binder!

Their Tech Help is THE best!

Kommentare: We use this for our kids library inventory/check out and it's a pretty basic need met by the software.

Vorteile:

We are a church who uses this for our Children's Ministry library. Since Covid, are activity has been changed, and we are preparing to roll out library cards and advertise to the church families. I was experiencing technical difficulties and called, and [SENSITIVE CONTENT] was terrific to work with, explaining as necessary in a way that was perfect for my non-technical mind. Just terrific customer service, and awareness of keeping it the right level with someone not adept at speaking in technical terms. It was an easy fix for him, but left me feeling confident it was fixed and I will easily call again if other things arise.

Nachteile:

Honestly - we haven't used it very often so, so I'm not aware of any reason I would rank "least" desirable. It works, it's easy, and if there's an issue there are knowledgeable people to help.

Used for correctional library.

Vorteile:

the program is very organized and user-friendly.

Nachteile:

The backup was a little confusing at first. However, once I had completed it via the walkthrough it almost came naturally.

A robust, independent product that creates confidence due to its simplicity of operation.

Kommentare: Freeing up staff time for professional work, rather than being stuck doing repetive, clerical work. The speed with which the annual stock take happens now that we have a mobile barcode reader, and the resultant report from Surpass are just two of an endless list of benefits.

Vorteile:

The logical grouping of features, the awesome customisation allowed in writing your own reports. The adherence to international standards (MARC, etc) made it super ease to integrate with my country's Bibliographic authority. The reassurance that when you power it up, it does not only appear on your screen, but it is working!!

Nachteile:

The manipulation of fonts in reports is somewhat limiting when designing complex, comprehensive reports.

Excellent Online Library Catalog

Vorteile:

Having this online catalog available has been great! The software works great and Surpass is excellent at customer service! Everytime I have an issue, they are helpful and responsive and resolve it. Our patrons love it and find it very user friendly! We're so happy with the decision to go with the Cloud version of Surpass software for our church library!

Nachteile:

Because it's new, there have been a few bugs, but each time they are resolved quickly!

Great Small Church Library Software

Kommentare: Being a former public librarian gave me a good reference point for choosing a software package for our church library. After several months of research, I chose the Surpass CL because of all of its features. The member functions - check-out, search, and reserve - are easy for the members to use, which was necessary as this is currently mostly a self-serve library. There is always a learning curve when learning a new database, but the database for maintaining the collection was not difficult to learn. It can be customized in many ways & do what you want. It is geared for growth. The IT help is amazing and patient. When learning any software, there may be questions or the occasional glitch. The sales personnel are not pushy. I have had it for two years now & would recommend Surpass to any library.

School Library Surpass Use

Kommentare: I LOVE having Library Sidekick for use with the students that I am teaching how to use the catalog. They can do so much with a little explanation. I like Library Trek as well, but do not have as much application for this app since the students do not get to use their iphones and ipods in class time.

Vorteile:

The software is updated frequently, and instructions are sent to people using it to keep them "in the know."

Nachteile:

No CONS that register with me. There is nothing I can register here.

I do not handle the financial information for our software.

Vorteile:

Ease of use with regard to all of the materials and patron areas. Several different ways to verify information and records.

Nachteile:

Some of setup settings, but those have been discussed with software company for ways to make it more manageable for end users.

Excellent Customer Support

Kommentare: Great!

Vorteile:

I found the transition from the former edition of Surpass to the cloud-based version to be very smooth.

Nachteile:

As an administrator. I would appreciate help pop-ups or something like that. All I had to do was visit "Settings" and "make visible," to fix my problem. The pop-up was "you must choose at least one category," and only the heading "Category" appeared. The pop-up could have suggested this, " Try "Settings," "Categories," then edit to "Make Visible." Just a suggestion. :)

Great Choice

Kommentare: We switched several years ago from an archaic and arcane DOS-based nightmare of a system (a castoff system from a well-known library supply company). Surpass is easy to use and has many features any librarian would seek in a system. Quick Cataloging (free in Central) covers 90%+ of cataloging needs, and CopyCat covers the rest and is worth the small cost. The online catalog search system (Safari) is wonderful, easily customized, and for a little over $100 a year you can get the Surpass Selections, which gives you cover images, reviews and more. There is cost involved (like any system), but the cost is consistent with industry standards, and you get a lot for the money. What I find the best about the company, though, is its support. They are very quick and responsive, and best of all listen to the customers when upgrading the system, incorporating requested features. It's when things aren't going perfectly that a company's true nature is shown, and Surpass is tops in service!

Easy Library Set up and Usage- Get Surpass

Kommentare: Surpass is easy to use and provides a wonderful library process for our school and our students. All the staff at Surpass are friendly, helpful, and caring to their customers and take care of all your needs in a timely manner.

Vorteile:

Ease of use and support received from Surpass