Winnipeg Public Library app returns to action

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This article was published 29/02/2024 (566 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bookworms rejoice: the Winnipeg Public Library’s mobile app is back up and running after being shut down late last year amid legal troubles for its developer.

The WPL app — which saved library card barcodes, allowed users to search for and check out books and other material, place holds, renew items, pay late fees, book computers and register for programs at the city’s libraries — suddenly went dark in November after a dispute between library tech developer SirsiDynix and mobile app developer Solus resulted in Solus cutting off access to the app.

Late Wednesday, Winnipeg library staff got the memo the legal dispute had been settled and the app was back in service, admin co-ordinator of virtual services Sophie Firby said.

“We’re really happy about it,” she said Thursday. “It’s like a special little leap year miracle.”

When the app was first blocked, library patrons were encouraged to access the WPL catalogue via their smartphone browser, which had fewer services and was more difficult to navigate.

At the time, the WPL began to rush some planned upgrades to the library’s mobile webpage. Some, such as upgrading the web browser to include access to a library card’s barcode, were completed in the past few months, while others, such as a more streamlined mobile version of the website, are still in the works, Firby said.

“Now that everyone can go back to using the app, it’s not quite so pressing, but we’re still going to push ahead with it. It’s important, in terms of just general usability.”

Also coming soon is a new, upgraded version of the WPL app, promised by SirsiDynix before the shutdown happened, Firby said. It could be ready as early as the first week of April, but Firby said the city will first hold beta testing.

“We’re going to stick with the old app until the new one is ready, because we’ve been bitten,” she said. “We know how much people rely on this, we’re not going to go with a product that isn’t fully tested.”

Upgraded app features include long-awaited push notifications and layout changes.

A statement from SirsiDynix chief marketing officer Eric Keith said SirsiDynix and Solus, “following several weeks of intensive discussions… have agreed to a path forward.”

SirsiDynix serves 20,000 libraries worldwide and said multiple Canadian libraries were impacted by the companies’ conflict. There has been a return to service nationwide.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca