Rating
4.7
60 reviews
Starting price
$500
Other
Categories
2
Founded
1986
Employees
10
Mandarin M5 is a fully web based, modern, online, HOSTED library automation system. M5 provides unlimited access to library resources from any workstation, at the library or remotely. M5 helps single and multiple site libraries lower costs and save time with M5 hosting service. Mandarin provides all updates and backups. Our technical support is renowned, and is available 24/7/365. Visit our M5 demonstration site today and see what the future looks like!
Ad spend / mo
$0
0 paid keywords
Paid visits / mo
0
Organic keywords
152
Organic visits / mo
290
Running 23 ads on LinkedIn as The Mandarin - a paid B2B channel, on top of any Google/Capterra spend.
(60 reviews)
Pros: Me gusta su estructura y servicio 24/7 y todas las posibilidades que ofrece como estadisticas, clasificación, agrupar colecciones..
Cons: Que si no escribes exactamente bien la palabra no lo encuentra.
Monica R. · Librarian · Primary/Secondary Education · June 18, 2024
Pros: The ease of getting the library data entered. The Tech crew is wonderful to work with. The time they will spend to help you understand and implement what you need done.
Cons: I would prefer that they update the picture for my patrons. It is a real pain to get the information from the other source.
Linda R. · Librarian · Libraries · October 24, 2023
overall I am very satisfied with the product
Pros: Great customer service, ease of use, sufficient customization
Cons:
| Category | Page | Rank | Placement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Library Automation | 1 | 1 | Ad |
Domain confidence 98%
Ana E. · Librarian · Education Management · October 24, 2023
Best to use
Pros: Easy to use ,understandable,supportive ,Great
Cons: No difficulty ,functionality, easy, reliable
Anonymous User · Lindsay limited company · Market Research · June 16, 2023
Learning a new system, as a new librarian, with hundreds of patrons, was a daunting position. However, I am consistently pleased with their support through the years.
Pros: Mandarin is so easy to learn and use. And on those ocassions when I don't find the answer, their customer service responds with efficiency.
Cons: Nothing to report. Apparently I need more characters in this reponse to make if valid. Still, nothing to report.
Laurie J. · Librarian · Education Management · January 30, 2023
The process of library status, the library transactions and the reports.
Pros: It's easy and friendly to use. The size of the letters, and the space in the templates.
Cons: Update the manual not only the video tutorials.
ana r. · Librarian Director · Religious Institutions · January 24, 2023
Amazing and prompt help from Alex and Mike. They are willing to take the time to talk me through a problem when I am hardly coherent about a situation.
Pros: The package was not my choice. I had to accept what the Hispanic Society Library was already using but I could make it work in a short time
Cons: The Advanced Search functions at the front end need to be made more intuitive and work better
szilvia S. · website owner · Research · October 22, 2022
Pros: The software is easy to personalize for the needs of our Library Learning Commons in a secondary setting. The technical support team is very knowledgeable and quick to respond with questions or things that needs to be fixed.
Cons: There was a bit of a challenge integrating with our old patron records at first, but the technical support staff was quick to resolve it. I would like if we could add other images or background colours to reflect our school more personally.
Teresa B. · Teacher-Librarian · Education Management · September 28, 2022
Excellent customer service
Pros: M5 is super easy to use and manage however, if a problem arises, the tech support at Mandarin responds quickly and delivers a solution fast so that we can continue to serve our community.
Cons: The reports are sometimes hard to navigate in order to get the correct info, however, tech support is always helpful in working with me to adjust the reports to what I need.
Kelly P. · Library Director · Libraries · August 25, 2022
It's fairly straight forward and easy to use. The help staff is amazing! If you have a problem, can't remember how to do something, or need assistance, they are there to help and take care of things in a timely manner.
Pros: For a small to mid-range school library, this is a great budget-friendly automation program. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but it meets our needs adequately.
Cons: It's a bit time-consuming and ponderous to set up at the beginning of each school year. The reserving a book part doesn't seem to work well for me.
Sharon W. · Elementary Librarian · Education Management · March 31, 2022
We went without a Library Software Management system for 10 years! Our older system (Follett) was outdated and the cost to update it was too much. Mandarin came in and integrated our database with their software so I had a working database again -- and could go from there. It works with our FACTS system so I didn't have to put in any patrons at all. I've felt very supported all along the way and will continue to need support as we move into Inventory this summer. Really a good company!
Pros: The company is excellent and the support is by far the absolute BEST I've ever experienced. If I email support or call I'm IMMEDIATELY helped. Outstanding is the best adjective. The software is very user-friendly. I'm not a full-time librarian so there was definitely a huge learning curve for me -- and the software was NOT hard to learn. There's tons of videos to help as well. The company completely integrated our old software program into Mandarin, so I didn't have to do anything -- except clean up our system. It's also fully integrated with FACTS -- our school management system. I'm very happy we went with this company.
Cons: I really need to use if for a longer period of time and honestly I don't have anything to compare it to because I'm not a "regular librarian" who might have had experience with other library software -- I have none. But, having said that, I think there are a few things that could be better. To Search for a "missing" book I look in "Status" -- but to do that I have to first go to Catalog and find the book's barcode -- that's an extra step. There should be a way to find who has the book or what the status is without first needing to look up it's barcode. So it's just a little cumbersome. Also, I'm finding that ALL my records are missing some key components that I'm having to add manually to each one. I wish there was a faster way to do that as well. But these are honestly very minor things. Overall, I'm really pleased so far.
Marcia C. · Part-time Librarian · Education Management · March 29, 2022
$8b
Pros: I like that once you get to know it, you can really maneuver around the program very easily. I’ve rarely ever experienced the website being down, never during school hours. It takes all the work out of circulation. All I have to do is scan and shelve.
Cons: In the catalogue feature, when you’re adding or editing a single book, the fields are all numbered and not easy to know what you are doing. I would love to see that small feature become as modernized and easy to use as the rest of the program. With that said, it is easy enough to figure out, it just takes some time and since we don’t use it often, I have to get help every time I do use it.
Daniel I. · Librarian · Libraries · March 23, 2022
Pros: This product was so easy to integrate, very stress free. I really do like the support that is offered. Always quick to respond and helpful in finding solutions.
Cons: I still am unable to get lists of holdings and other things like that to work.
Ann S. · Librarian · Education Management · March 10, 2022
The switch to Mandarin from RenWeb library was a breeze. They handled all of it on their end. After a small learning curve I was up and running, with SO many more tools at my disposal than I ever had before... things I didn't even know I needed but now couldn't imagine going without. We used RenWeb because it was built-in to the SIS we already paying for. It was EXTREMELY bare bones, but it was free. Mandarin was an enormous step up at a great price. I wish I had switched sooner.
Pros: Easy to use. Value for the money. Quick response to customer service inquiries. Records (new enrollments) automatically update from SIS (FACTS/RenWeb). Record Fetch is great!
Cons: OPAC not customizable enough. Financials do not integrate with SIS (FACTS/RenWeb).
Chad S. · Librarian · Libraries · March 8, 2022
I loved the professionalism and the service that I got. After using them in an Ohio prison and know how strong the bid process for companies to land contracts with the state, I knew they would be good for the charter school libraries I was creating in the state of Michigan. After hand linking over 19,500 books with over 4,500 to go and having library aides take over the management of the other 3 libraries while I finished the 4th, I knew I made the right decision.
Pros: I like that I got want I needed, the ease of use, and the tech support they gave for the price. I saved over $12,000 over other systems and working in public schools every dime you save can go toward books for the library.
Cons: That I had to have 4 different logins for the 4 schools that I had to remember. I also didn't like that I had to call or email them for new login for the staff even though they quickly did them for me.
Ann L. · Librarian · Libraries · January 20, 2022
The entire Mandarin team made the transition from Destiny easy and we lost no data. After the implementation we have received superior customer support (unlike Destiny) and the Mandarin teams seems to be able to solve any problem.
Pros: Mandarin is one of those systems that is built for the end user. It is simple and logical to use, powerful, but not overly complex. Darn near perfect.
Cons: Some of the back end features could be made more user friendly for those of us who manage the application.
Joel W. · Director of Technology · Education Management · December 3, 2021
The customer service is the best feature. Answers are almost immediate, and tech support is always helpful and reliable.
Pros: The software is versatile, and the features are endless.
Cons: Not intuitive- I find that certain features work very well, but you need to learn how to use them beforehand.
Michal C. · School Library Media Specialist · Libraries · November 3, 2021
Mandarin has helped patrons to access the contents of the library collection in the comfort of their homes. Information is simply a click away.
Pros: $8c
Cons: Much as the software is efficient, less developed communities with poor internet infrastucture may find the software irritating due to internet connectivity issues. Beside, not all titles can be found on record Fetch. This compels catalogues to look for alternative sources of information. This process consumes time
Anonymous User · Librarian · Research · April 16, 2021
Inventory issues and also daily transactions that can be so overwhelming
Pros: It is easy use read and getting used to also there is less complications when performing daily transactions by just scanning a barcode
Cons: a more modernized user interface
Ronzstah N. · Librarian · Education Management · April 7, 2021
From the first point of my inquiries the Mandarin employees have been extremely helpful and knowledgeable. The concept that the first contact should know the product well made Mandarin stand out above the other companies I investigated. The technical support during and beyond implementation has also been outstanding showing that they really care about our library and our users.
Pros: This library software is easy to use and easy to train students and staff to use. The ability to quickly download catalog records from Library of Congress or other libraries is extremely helpful. Whenever I need to create a record that can't be downloaded, an exceptional template is available. If I need to edit a record all of the MARC record fields and subfields show as options for insertion; and it is very easy to delete an unwanted field.
Cons: When there are multiple call numbers on one record the call number should be absent from the results page, instead a note to 'see holdings'.
Karen G. · Library Director · Libraries · November 23, 2020
Mandarin's Tech support is great!!!
Pros: We were already using Madarain M3 to the switch to M% was seamless. Staff were able to adjust to the new platform quickly. We really like the cataloguing module. Very user friendly and the online OPAC is great as well.
Cons: Patrons are not yet able to transfer books from their reading lists to their reserve list. I would like to see an easier method for patrons to reserve books with one click.
Cynthia M. · CEO · Libraries · November 17, 2020
We've been using Mandarin for more years than I know of. Whenever we have an issue or suggestion, we email Mandarin and we get the quickest and best help ever.
Pros: Ease of use; functionality; easy to learn.
Cons: Some of the report tools are complicated.
Julie L. · CEO · Libraries · February 13, 2020
Pros: We recently transitioned from Mandarin M3 to Mandarin M5. M5 is very easy to use by the staff and patrons. It offers different functionalities that we did not have access to with M3.
Cons: Nothing negative to say for the moment we just started using M5 and everything is going smoothly.
Lynn I. · CEO · Libraries · February 11, 2020
Excellent! As always, the technical support team at Mandarin is outstanding. Their response speed, willingness to help, follow through, and accessibility is the best.
Pros: Easy to use, M5 Reports seems easier than old method
Cons: Would like more kid friendly features, such as video book trailer ability
Mollissa L. · District Librarian · Libraries · February 7, 2020
Pros: Our school has used Mandarin for a long time. This fall, we upgraded to the latest version. The upgrade was worth it! Our new Mandarin has a fresh, updated look. Many of the features have been streamlined and are easy to use. No more clicking between multiple screens! I can do more work more efficiently! Downloading records is super easy. Purging books from the system is also super simple.
Cons: I was looking forward to printing off spine labels and pocket labels from my new Mandarin. However, the spine labels only print on a certain kind of label. I'm having trouble finding that specific label, so I continue to type my own. The pocket labels come out blurry. I experimented with both those types of labels on Mandarin with no luck.
Camille D. · Librarian · Libraries · February 6, 2020
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