KCLS vs BookLib Library Manager
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
BookLib Library Manager
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BookLib is the companion app for your self-hosted BookLib library server. Catalog your books, organize your shelves, and keep track of loans from your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch—while keeping your library under your control. Build your personal library Scan a book’s barcode to quickly add it using its ISBN, or search by title and author to choose the correct edition. BookLib can retrieve available metadata such as covers, descriptions, genres, formats, and series information from supported book catalogues. Know exactly where every book belongs Create digital bookshelves that match your physical collection. Assign books to individual shelf positions, browse a visual representation of each shelf, and use the locator to find a book quickly. Search and organize Find books by title, author, ISBN, notes, or catalogue identifier. Filter your collection by tags, format, series, copies, and editions. Authors and series are interactive, making it easy to explore related books in your library. Manage lending Check books out under a borrower’s name and see which titles are currently away. Record returns when books come back, and distinguish between multiple physical copies or different editions of the same title. Apple Watch companion Browse your library from your wrist, view shelf locations, and quickly check where a book belongs. The Watch app communicates with BookLib through your paired iPhone. Your server, your data BookLib connects directly to a compatible server that you or your server administrator operates. The app has no centralized BookLib account, advertising, analytics, or tracking. A compatible self-hosted BookLib server is required. Installation and server documentation are available at: https://github.com/CloudyMcFox/BookLib
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: BookLib Library Manager at every 8 days against KCLS's every 3 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.
KCLS ships an update every 3 months, BookLib Library Manager every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | KCLS | BookLib Library Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (17 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 27.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 17 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 22 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | King County Library System | Ryan Offir |
Bugs and 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
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- 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
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- 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
BookLib Library Manager
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
KCLS
No in-app purchases
BookLib Library Manager
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is KCLS free?
Is BookLib Library Manager free?
Do KCLS or BookLib Library Manager have ads?
Which is updated more often, KCLS or BookLib Library Manager?
Other comparisons
