The app has most of the basic features users would expect, except for user lists being completely missing. However, the UI feels like it was developed a decade ago. A couple examples: When opening an activity from the dashboard, there’s a very weird and unintuitive transition as a navigation controller appears, and when we press back to return to the dashboard. Also, it takes one tap from the homepage to open local newspaper indexes, and two taps to see what books I have on hold, even though seeing what books I have on hold is a *way* more common activity for an average library user. Finally, if an item is on hold and can’t be renewed, the renew button is still visible, but when it is clicked an alert pops up saying that the item can’t be renewed. Why show this button in the first place? It makes no sense. In general, this would be better laid out as a tab bar application, with the dashboard being a tab (or even some dashboard activities having their own tabs, like checked out and holds) and the other activities on the home screen that are most commonly used as other tabs. Also, the “keep signed in” checkbox is only intermittently effective, I’m sometimes logged out after I use the app.
It's fine when it's working, which is rare. I've had to constantly log in & out to be able to search. Now today it's not recognizing my login at all. Using the website via desktop is fine. This app is always full of bugs. More of a pain to use it than anything.
I like the app and have been using it a lot during quarantine in order to get books on hold for curbside pickup. I have not been able to login for about a week, coincident with the last update to the app. Just checked again for the third time today and was able to login. The uncertainty is not a good feature. After successful login, the app was unable to show me my checkouts or hold—I got a time out error message. I had the same issue with the search function. Help!
The app is so much better with the recent update. I love the linked accounts - makes my life as a mom much easier. The app is still a little on the slow side, but I can deal with that.
It worked for a while and I could at least see my holds and checked out items. Now I can’t do anything. Either there is an error message or literally nothing happens at all when I click on the main page sections.
Been pretty flawless for years until a few weeks ago. Now it rarely if ever shows my checkouts and any actions like renewals result in glitches and crashes. Please fix!!
This app is so incredibly slow it’s unbelievable. In today’s app market I cannot believe the functionality is not quicker. Every function takes about 30 seconds to work. Log in - 30 seconds. Type in a search - wait 30 seconds for results. Hit the hold button - wait 30 seconds for that. Finalize your hold - 30 more seconds. Perhaps it has to do with my library’s system behind the app, but then the developer should determine the issue and help make it better. It’s also incredibly unreliable in terms of actually doing what you need it to do. I use this dumb app because we’re big library users and I have to use this to hold books etc at the library, but I HATE it.
I used to like this. It wasn’t perfect but I could easily renew items and see which libraries had a book I was looking for. Putting holds on items was easy and convenient. After the recent update, it’s almost impossible to even see what I have checked out. Every time I open the app I have to log out and try to log back in. Logging back in takes several tries before it actually does anything. Without doing that it constantly redirects back to the home page and won’t do what I have checked out or anything. Hopefully someone can fix these glitches so it’s usable again.
Convenient to have mobile access to put holds on books, browse, and check due dates. Navigation isn't the best. Takes more tapping around than it should to find things. Also, downloads from Overdrive don't seem to be working. Couldn't get the barcode scan to work, either (cool idea, though!) But, hey, it's free, and much easier than trying to use the regular web interface on a tiny screen.
This app is okay when it works but there’s no telling when it will or will not work. It is very slow and glitchy. Different types of errors. Currently it will load but only loads back to the home screen. It also rarely updates what I have checked out/ on hold. I might have to go out and come back in a couple times before it updates.
This seems to be a simple wrapper app around the mobile website with barcode scanning added. The mobile website is poorly designed and very cumbersome to use as a result. This app is no different, unfortunately. Even using the default UI settings for most common widgets (tables, lists, etc) should yield a more useful, capable app than what's provided here. Hire a designer or at least go and checkout other apps and websites that deal heavily with lists and tables and objects with multiple levels of details. A paper card catalog was easier on the eyes than this!
This is a terrible app. Half the time it won’t load your search page. Many, many times it fails to bring up the item you’re searching for, but when you search by author instead of title, there it is. It feels unnecessarily complicated. For instance, if you do a search with more than one word, the keyboard that pops up doesn’t have a space bar. Today, I tried to delete a search and the delete button added random letters instead of deleting the entry.
After the update I was excited to see what improvements we were getting. But the exact opposite happened. App won’t load my checkout/hold lists. Half the time when I look up some media to check out, the page won’t load and an error pops up. The other half he time if I’m able to finally place a hold, I have to scroll all the way down to my local library to deliver... this used to be set for me automatically when I go to check out..
I love libraries and so wish this app worked reliably. When it does work, (about 10% of the time), it is easier/quicker than using a regular computer! Unfortunately it rarely works. I have reinstalled, restarted my phone, etc. I don't have problems with anything else on my phone, & I work at the library, so I don't think it's a problem on my end. The app usually fails to come up with any response to a search. It will "think" for a longtime, & then say to try again later. Today it is finding results that seem unrelated to my search terms and are only available in Overdrive format. Libraries are all about helping us find information...this app should be awesome! There must be some civic-minded app-maker out there who can do better...anyone?
I was so excited that they were updating this app, because while usable, it had issues. Unfortunately, it’s now unusable. Most the time I can’t even get into my account. I did the other day though, and put some holds on children’s books I need this week. I just got on (online, because the app wouldn’t work) to check their status and none of those holds show up on my account so I won’t have them in time.
This app has so many deficiencies and is SO slow...and now I keep getting notified that it won’t work after another iOS update if it isn’t updated... There has to be a way to improve this experience. I hope it’s being worked on as this is the way my library system has chosen for reserving books... please fix!!
I've never had a problem with this app. I use it to keep a list of books I want to read and then request them from the library. I like that I can renew books, too.
If you want a frustrating experience then check out this app! It does almost nothing you want it to do. The times it does work it’s slower than a turtle with a hangover. Boo. Terrible. I wouldn’t bother using it or reviewing it but it’s the only way I have to request books.
Is zero stars an option? This app is truly terrible. It used to be glitchy and kind of annoying, but would seem to fix itself within the day. Now it never seems to work. I find it particularly frustrating these days as the libraries in our area are not open to the public, but will do curbside pickup. Reserving books online is literally the only option.
Works fine on iPad 3 iOS 6.01. Not a "beautiful" app, but it works well and is a great way to check books out on-line and see the status of your: holds, fines, books out, etc.
Clunky and very slow. Doesn’t maintain your login from once use to the next. Searching is painful. That said, I can usually accomplish what I want to do, just much less easily than it could be.
This is about as bad of an app I have seen, made worse by the fact it's the only one I know of for its purpose. Terrible interface, saves your card number and pin, but makes you click to log in every time, search is all but useless with no filter. Skip this and use the desktop web interface.
Worked great for about 2 weeks, then stopped working completely
Really liked the app. Was able to hold books, check due dates, and save a book list for future reads. Then for some unknown reason stopped working completely. Now it sits and states there is an unknown error. Even tried re-downloading with no success. Please fix.
Much quicker than using the website on the go. Please make a sort for my checked out list! I want to see what is due when and what may need to be renewed.
The app works less than half the time. It will either show the old cached list of books that have already been returned or throw an error. I would like to appeal to LINKcat management to please fix this app. If your spending towards improving the Library facilities, you can surely devote resources towards improving this app.
I don’t know why I’m bothering because the last app update was in 2015. Hello? Anyone out there? Developer? South Central (Wisconsin) Library System? This app su-ucks in so very many ways. But since I’m almost certain no one is paying attention, I’ll just stick with the most serious flaw: This app runs as slowly as dial-up used to. Period. Full stop.
This app used to work fine to find books, place holds, and renew items. Now I’m stuck with my last search results and a login screen - I can’t get to my checked out items to do a renewal. Maybe my overdue fines will help pay someone to fix the app...
Ever since my library system updated the web version, I have not been able to use this app. We need an updated version! I really miss being able to manage my library account from my phone.
This app is useless. If I could give it 0 stars, I would. It doesn’t load, the search function glitches. You can’t easily renew your books. There is absolutely no reason to use it, other than to test your patience.
I used to love this app and used it all the time to put books on hold. But apparently they upgraded it only to ruin it. For heaven sake surely enough people have complained about the upgrade that someone could fix it
App worked great until this past week now all I get is an error message. Tried deleting the app and re downloading but it didn't help. Need to go through the web browser. Very frustrating.
This app has a useful concept but barely works if it works at all. Given the high quality of apps available today, it is shocking that this is the best the library can come up with.
How did they not think of prioritizing a sort for checked out items? They show up in a random order. At the least, it should have had a default sort of 'due soon' The rest of the app is pretty slow. Good start I suppose.
App is slow, need to keep logging back on, can’t find what you need. Hard to figure out how to renew a checked out item, for example. This app is so outdated and poorly constructed.
The app used to be very slow but after the “update” it is terrible. Can’t search or even place holds. Please do a real update that brings this app into the 21st century.
