Pinakes vs Sonet Library Management

Pinakes is a self-hosted integrated library system for schools, municipalities, and private collections. It combines cataloging, circulation, a self-service public catalog, and REST APIs. Cataloging tools import ISBN/EAN metadata, retrieve covers, manage multiple copies, and accept bulk CSV imports. Circulation handles requests, approvals, checkout, renewals, returns, due dates, and FIFO reservation queues. The Digital Library plugin supports PDF and ePub ebooks and streams MP3, M4A, and OGG audiobooks, with access controls for individual items. Metadata sources include Open Library and Google Books; Z39.50/SRU tools connect to catalogs such as the Library of Congress, OCLC, and SBN Italia. The system offers an SRU 1.2 endpoint with MARCXML, Dublin Core, and MODS exports. Pinakes is GPL-3 software with no recurring fees. Self-hosting requires PHP 8.2 or later, MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+, and Apache or nginx; the project says it works on shared hosting and provides a guided installer. A companion Android app requires the Mobile API plugin for loan features.

Sonet Library Management has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.