Mobile App Project
Our mobile app is available for iOS on the Apple App Store and Android on Google Play. We developed this app to increase access to the Library system, enhance the online patron experience and attract new audiences.
Download the App
Our app is currently in a Beta testing phase. This allows patrons to try our features and provide us with feedback to improve the app before we finalize and add additional languages.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I enable notifications from the mobile app?
After you download and open the mobile app, it will prompt you to accept notifications. You will also need to make sure the settings on your phone are configured to allow the SPL mobile app to send you notifications.
How do I manage suspended holds in the mobile app?
You can access your holds by selecting “Holds” from the Account menu in the mobile app. For each suspended hold listed, you can select “Cancel” and then “Save” to cancel the hold, or select “Reactivate” and then “Save” to reactivate the hold, but you can only cancel or reactivate suspended holds one at a time via the current version of the mobile app.
Please note that unlike our BiblioCommons catalog, the current version of the mobile app does not allow you to change the suspension date of a hold in order to reactivate it, or to select multiple holds and suspend them all at the same time.
Why are BiblioCommons Shelves not available in the mobile app?
BiblioCommons, the Library’s catalog, allows you to create personalized online lists – virtual “shelves” – of the books you are reading, or have read, or want to read in the future. This is an internal feature of our catalog and not available in the current version of the mobile app.
Share Your Feedback
The app is currently in Beta testing, so your feedback is important to help us improve it!
What We Have Completed
Discovery and Community Engagement
Based on focus group conversations and survey responses from over 3,000 people, we developed a list of mobile app features that are important or very important to our community, in particular our prioritized communities. These features include access to library information, materials and programming, personalization, communication, and customizability, and maps and navigational aids.
Functionality
This list of features informed our Request for Proposals (RFP) for the development of a mobile app for the Library. We released this RFP in 2023 and staff evaluated four vendor demo apps. From this evaluation we shortlisted two apps for patron testing.
Design & Usability Testing
As part of our process, we asked patrons to help us by participating in usability testing studies. We were especially interested in hearing from people with disabilities and communities most impacted by the digital divide, including communities of color, seniors, low-income communities, and limited proficiency or non-English speaking communities.
We hired a local human-centered design consultancy focused on government agencies, nonprofits and enterprises with a social-impact mission. They conducted demo app testing with patrons at several Library locations in September.
The results from these usability tests, combined with staff feedback, informed the development of our app.