Libraries Hawaii vs KCLS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Libraries Hawaii
Access the Hawaii State Public Library System's catalog from your mobile device. Search for books and movies, manage your account, place holds, and discover library events and hours.
- Search library catalog
- Place and cancel holds
- Manage library account
- Scan item barcodes
- View item details and reviews
- Find library events and hours
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Hawaii State Public Library System's app takes library catalog to your iPhone and iPad - search library's collection, place a hold, manage your account and much more. Features: - Scan any item's barcode anywhere and see its availability in your library - Search for books, movies and other items on library's catalog - Get details item details including user reviews - Place and cancel holds - See checked out items - Find out about events at your library and working hours
KCLS
Manage your library account conveniently from your mobile device. Discover new books, place holds, renew borrowed items, and easily locate library branches and their hours.
- Discover and search library collection
- Place, manage, and cancel holds
- Renew borrowed items
- Rate and save titles
- Find library locations and hours
- Browse bestsellers and new arrivals
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Save time by managing your King County Library System (KCLS) account on your mobile device. The KCLS app makes it easy to discover and rate titles, place holds, renew items, and find library locations. Features: • Find items in our collection, using filters to zero-in on what you’re looking for • Browse bestsellers, new arrivals, and recent reader reviews • Check title availability and map locations where titles are available now • Place, suspend, activate, and cancel holds • Renew items • Rate and save titles to Shelves • Find library hours and get directions to the nearest location
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Libraries Hawaii at every 6 weeks against KCLS's every 3 months. On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Libraries Hawaii ships an update every 6 weeks, KCLS every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Libraries Hawaii | KCLS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 3.9 (16 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 27.1% of reviews | 27.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 16 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ChiliFresh.com | King County Library System |
Customer experience
Libraries Hawaii
KCLS
Bugs and requests
Libraries Hawaii
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
KCLS
Reported bugs
173 issues- Keeps logging out
- Constant sign in issues
- Failed sign in attempts count against user
- Return book function doesn't work
- Search bar coded too narrowly
Show 168 moreShow fewer
- No notifications for holds ready
- App times out
- Bookshelf features show blank
- Glitching frequently
- Kicks user out
- Won't accept card or passcode
- System errors after login prompts
- Search results blank
- Borrowing tab won't show books
- Opening a book doesn't work
- App crashes when viewing 'For Later' shelf
- App loads website in all views
- Navigation is a mess
- Wasted space
- Hard to find things
- App gets worse with each update
- Developers lack common sense
- Borrowing section takes long to load
- Borrowing section often blank
- App not reliable
- App didn't resize on iPad
- App remains small on iPad
- Confusing new UI
- Horrid update
- New version doesn't let you search by genre
- New version doesn't let you search by type of item
- App bounces user to multiple other apps
- Forces multiple sign-ins
- Doesn't work in the end
- Completely useless
- Confusing vocabulary
- Counterintuitive product
- Horrible new update
- App is slow
- Cumbersome new version
- Less visually attractive new version
- Missing 'On Order' filter
- Lacks website functionalities
- Awful new version
- Not visual
- Not user friendly
- Worst App ever
- Missing 'Just Ordered' option
- Useless to user
- Landing page shows holds, not borrowed
- Takes long to open Borrowing page
- Real drag to wait every time
- Easier to use browser version
- Black bars on top and bottom of iPhone X screen
- App is adequate at best
- App is unloved compared to website
- Design is outdated
- Keyboard and popup windows target non-Retina devices
- App forced into portrait on iPad
- Cannot be used in landscape on iPad
- Does not scale to iPad screen
- App is almost unusable due to instability
- Very buggy
- Features to refine searches not working
- 'Done' button doesn't work for refinements
- 'Done' or 'Cancel' button doesn't work for refinements
- 'Refine' feature stopped working
- 'DONE' button for refining results isn't working
- App looks horrible on an iPad
- App keeps crashing
- App closes within seconds of opening
- App tells user something's on hold when it's not
- Lag with dialogue boxes
- Invalid Patron Access error
- App had a bunch of issues initially
- App won't stay open
- Redirected to mobile website for holds
- Redirected to mobile website for ebooks
- Slow when placing a hold
- Slow when checking account
- Difficulties with logging in/out
- Difficulties with changing accounts
- Can't suggest authors
- Can't recommend other books in a series
- Doesn't mark books read through Overdrive app
- New version is confusing
- New version is slow
- New UI very difficult to use
- Cannot listen to audiobooks through Apple Music
- App gets worse with each update
- Developers lack common sense
- App times out
- Bookshelf features show blank
- Glitching frequently
- Kicks user out
- Won't accept card or passcode
- System errors after login prompts
- Search results blank
- Borrowing tab won't show books
- Opening a book doesn't work
- App crashes when viewing 'For Later' shelf
- App loads website in all views
- Navigation is a mess
- Wasted space
- Hard to find things
- App gets worse with each update
- Developers lack common sense
- Borrowing section takes long to load
- Borrowing section often blank
- App not reliable
- App didn't resize on iPad
- App remains small on iPad
- Confusing new UI
- Horrid update
- New version doesn't let you search by genre
- New version doesn't let you search by type of item
- App bounces user to multiple other apps
- Forces multiple sign-ins
- Doesn't work in the end
- Completely useless
- Confusing vocabulary
- Counterintuitive product
- Horrible new update
- App is slow
- Cumbersome new version
- Less visually attractive new version
- Missing 'On Order' filter
- Lacks website functionalities
- Awful new version
- Not visual
- Not user friendly
- Worst App ever
- Missing 'Just Ordered' option
- Useless to user
- Landing page shows holds, not borrowed
- Takes long to open Borrowing page
- Real drag to wait every time
- Easier to use browser version
- Black bars on top and bottom of iPhone X screen
- App is adequate at best
- App is unloved compared to website
- Design is outdated
- Keyboard and popup windows target non-Retina devices
- App forced into portrait on iPad
- Cannot be used in landscape on iPad
- Does not scale to iPad screen
- App is almost unusable due to instability
- Very buggy
- Features to refine searches not working
- 'Done' button doesn't work for refinements
- 'Done' or 'Cancel' button doesn't work for refinements
- 'Refine' feature stopped working
- 'DONE' button for refining results isn't working
- App looks horrible on an iPad
- App keeps crashing
- App closes within seconds of opening
- App tells user something's on hold when it's not
- Lag with dialogue boxes
- Invalid Patron Access error
- App had a bunch of issues initially
- App won't stay open
- Redirected to mobile website for holds
- Redirected to mobile website for ebooks
- Slow when placing a hold
- Slow when checking account
- Difficulties with logging in/out
- Difficulties with changing accounts
- Can't suggest authors
- Can't recommend other books in a series
- Doesn't mark books read through Overdrive app
- New version is confusing
- New version is slow
- New UI very difficult to use
Requested features
23 requests- Correct misspellings in search
- Allow less than exact search terms
- Auto-correction in search
- Word suggestion in search
- Dark mode option
Show 18 moreShow fewer
- Filter search by genre
- Filter search by subject
- See reviews and comments in app
- Limit search to specific word and exclude derivatives
- Predictive text feature in search
- Add library card to Apple Wallet
- Optimize for iPhone X screen
- Suggest authors, not just books
- Mark books as read through Overdrive app
- Push notifications for holds/due dates
- Account overview/summary screen
- Return 'On Order' filter
- Return 'Just Ordered' filter
- Dark mode
- Advanced search filters
- Improved search functionality
- Better iPad optimization
- Push notifications
In-app purchases
Libraries Hawaii
No in-app purchases
KCLS
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Libraries Hawaii free?
Is KCLS free?
Do Libraries Hawaii or KCLS have ads?
Which is updated more often, Libraries Hawaii or KCLS?
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