Solid library app
Easy to do quick holds, renewals, and checking events. Being able to search the catalog, place holds, renew items, reserve study rooms, and view my digital library card (which adds nicely to Apple Wallet) on my phone is genuinely convenient. The recent updates have improved the look and feel, and multiple account support is great for families.
It handles the basics very well—event registration, eLibrary access, and printing jobs work smoothly.
It handles the basics very well—event registration, eLibrary access, and printing jobs work smoothly.
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An amazing improvement
The new app looks so much better and functions much more efficiently! Great improvements!!
Could be solid offering but critical updates needed
The Geneva Public Library app, developed by Communico LLC, has some serious shortcomings in terms of reliability, ongoing development, and essential features.
The app frequently fails to load properly on launch—nothing is selectable, and it requires a force stop and restart to become usable. This issue occurs consistently on multiple iPhone models.
That said, it does handle some core functions reasonably well, such as viewing the event calendar, displaying library hours, accessing your library card, and other basic tasks.
Unfortunately, several fundamental features that users expect from modern library apps—and that many competing systems have successfully implemented—are missing or poorly executed:
1. No grouping of book editions — Searching for a popular title often returns dozens (sometimes 50+) separate editions, forcing you to scroll through and check each one individually instead of seeing them consolidated under a single entry.
2. No option to limit searches to Geneva Public Library’s inventory only — Results pull from the entire consortium by default. While there are filters labeled “My Library” and “Consortium,” selecting “My Library” still shows items from across the consortium rather than restricting to what’s actually available at Geneva. (This feature appears to have been planned at some point, but it doesn’t function as intended.)
3. Inability to switch pickup methods in the app — You can’t toggle between drive-through and indoor pickup (or vice versa) within the app itself. This option is available on the library’s website, but not in the mobile experience.
I hope Communico addresses these reliability issues and adds the missing functionality soon, as the app has potential but currently falls short of what patrons need for a seamless experience.
The app frequently fails to load properly on launch—nothing is selectable, and it requires a force stop and restart to become usable. This issue occurs consistently on multiple iPhone models.
That said, it does handle some core functions reasonably well, such as viewing the event calendar, displaying library hours, accessing your library card, and other basic tasks.
Unfortunately, several fundamental features that users expect from modern library apps—and that many competing systems have successfully implemented—are missing or poorly executed:
1. No grouping of book editions — Searching for a popular title often returns dozens (sometimes 50+) separate editions, forcing you to scroll through and check each one individually instead of seeing them consolidated under a single entry.
2. No option to limit searches to Geneva Public Library’s inventory only — Results pull from the entire consortium by default. While there are filters labeled “My Library” and “Consortium,” selecting “My Library” still shows items from across the consortium rather than restricting to what’s actually available at Geneva. (This feature appears to have been planned at some point, but it doesn’t function as intended.)
3. Inability to switch pickup methods in the app — You can’t toggle between drive-through and indoor pickup (or vice versa) within the app itself. This option is available on the library’s website, but not in the mobile experience.
I hope Communico addresses these reliability issues and adds the missing functionality soon, as the app has potential but currently falls short of what patrons need for a seamless experience.
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Could be solid offering but critical update needed
Abandonware. Developer Communico LLC does not update and has poor command of building out and supporting apps. App frequently doesn’t work upon launch. Specifically, you’ll load up the app…and nothing can be selected. Requires force stop to work. Both on iPhone XR and iPhone 13. I will report that the app does do some of the basics quite well such as the ability to view the event calendar, display library hours, pull up library card, etc. However there are a few absolute fundamentals that other library systems and their app developers have figured out that are sorely lacking here… 1. The app doesn’t allow you to group all editions of a book together in your search. For any given book, you might have to sort through as many 50+ editions each individually 2. You can’t search just the Geneva library’s inventory. It seems this feature was planned at some point (most likely) as search results can be selected as “My Library” and “Consortium” but the My Library view still displays all books from the consortium rather than only the books actually available at the Geneva Library. 3. No ability to switch from drive through book pickup to indoor pickup (or vice versa). You can, however, toggle this on the library’s website. I do hope these things get sorted out eventually.
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Could be solid offering but critical update needed
Abandonware. Developer Communico LLC does not update and has poor command of building out and supporting apps. A shame to Geneva taxpayers who get the short end of the stick. App doesn’t work upon launch. After app launches…nothing can be selected. Requires force stop to work every day. Both on iPhone XR and iPhone 13. This app does do some of the basics quite well such as the ability to view the event calendar, display library hours, pull up library card, etc. However there are a few fundamentals that other library systems and their app developers have figured out that are sorely lacking here… 1. The app doesn’t allow you to group all editions of a book together in your search. For any given book, you might have to sort through as many 50+ editions each individually 2. You can’t search just the Geneva library’s inventory. It seems this feature was planned at some point (most likely) as search results can be selected as “My Library” and “Consortium” but the My Library view still displays all books from the consortium rather than only the books actually available at the Geneva Library. 3. No ability to switch from drive through book pickup to indoor pickup (or vice versa). You can, however, toggle this on the library’s website. I do hope these things get addressed as it would make this app an even more robust tool for patrons.
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