WELLINGTON COUNTY – The county library quietly launched a new mobile device app at the beginning of the month.
Now available as a free download for iOS and Android smartphone operating systems from their app stores, bookworms can manage everything from placing a hold on a fresh release to reading book reviews.
After installing, the app, labelled “My WCL,” will appear in a phone’s app menu with the library’s blue and green origami-style ‘W.’
Users are met with a clean, minimalist view of the library’s catalogue home screen, outfitted for viewing on mobile devices.
“New at the library” books and audiobooks are featured up front, just below a tappable ribbon showing overdue, soon to-be-due, and ready-for-pickup books and fees for quick reference.
Scrolling down with a swipe of the screen brings users to a “for later shelf” of titles saved into the collection. And just below that are the much-loved and curated staff lists looking at best books for the month and other categories.
The library’s entire catalogue can be searched from the app and book barcodes can be scanned and searched using a device’s camera as well.
Books, DVDs and Audio CDs can be placed on hold for loan right from the app with only a tap at a user’s preferred library branch.
E-materials like books and videos can also be loaned out or accessed from the app and opened in their respective apps like OverDrive and Kanopy.
The app also has a digital version of a user’s library card which can be scanned, important messages from the library (like proof-of-vaccination requirements) can be read and all branch information is available; complete with operating hours, closures, contact information and a photo of the branch.
The library’s online catalogue is a service provided by third-party vendor BiblioCommons, branded for the library, and synchronized to the library’s database of materials and user accounts.
“The app is basically a mirror of our online catalogue,” said information services librarian Jessica Veldman. Information is transferred seamlessly between the library’s databases and the app.
The app project was started in 2019 as part of a rebuilding of the library’s online catalogue, ringing in at $36,837 in total, according to a library project costing breakdown. The app itself will have an annual cost of $5,000.
In the past year, BiblioCommons released a new version of the app, compatible for both iOS- and Android-based devices.
“We chose to wait until that new version was available for both iOS and Android, before we launched to the public just to make a better, easier experience for people,” Veldman said of the time it took from inception to launch.
Users can login to the app the same way they do from a computer’s web browser, using their library card number or username along with a password.
The app went live on Oct. 1.
