VuFind

VuFind®
Developer(s)	Villanova University
Initial release	July 15, 2010; 15 years ago (2010-07-15)
Stable release	10.2.0[1] / 23 June 2025; 2 months ago (23 June 2025)
Repository	github.com/vufind-org/vufind
Written in	PHP/Laminas, Java
Available in	English
Type	Discovery layer
License	GPL-2.0-only
Website	https://vufind.org

VuFind® is an open-source library search engine that allows users to search and browse beyond the resources of a traditional Online public access catalog (OPAC). Developed by Villanova University, version 1.0 was released in July 2010 after two years in beta.^[2]

VuFind® operates with a simple interface and offers flexible keyword searching. While most commonly used for searching catalog records, VuFind can be extended to search other library resources including: locally cached journals, digital library items, and institutional repository and bibliography. The software is also modular and highly configurable, allowing implementers to choose system components to best fit their needs.^[3]

The project wiki lists around two hundred institutions running live or beta instances of VuFind® including the National Library of Finland, the National Library of Ireland, and the Iowa City Public Library, as well as a dozen of instances run by finc in Germany.^[4]

VuFind® offers a number of features that enhance usability:^[5]

• Faceted search results that allow users to narrow items by format, call number, language, author, genre, era, region, and more^[6]
• Suggested resources and searches
• Browsing capability
• Personal organization and annotation of resources through favorites lists, texting, e-mailing, tagging, and commenting features
• Persistent URLs
• APA or MLA citations
• Author biographies
• Multi-language capability with translations available in Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Bengali (India)^[7] and more

• Official website
• Code repository