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Norwood library rolls out Minuteman mobile app; patrons report faster searches and some login issues
Summary
At the May 13 Town of Norwood Library Board meeting, Michael Roderick, head of borrower services, described the May 1 launch of the Minuteman mobile app, the planned deprecation of the old app, and new features including Scan and Go. Board members and patrons praised faster searches but flagged intermittent logouts and performance issues.
Michael Roderick, head of borrower services, told the Town of Norwood Library Board on May 13 that the library and the Minuteman network launched a new Minuteman mobile app on May 1 and plan to phase out the old app by May 31.
Roderick said the app consolidates e-materials and physical-catalog functions, lets patrons check out Hoopla and Libby items from a single interface, and adds a new Scan and Go feature that lets users check out held or shelved items with their phone camera. “It just launched May 1, for our, patrons,” Roderick said. “Our brand new feature . . . is Scan and Go, which allows you to check out items that you have put on a request or from our library, with your phone's camera.”
The board heard data Roderick presented showing an increase in digital use: OverDrive/Libby checkouts rose about 16% in April 2025 compared with April 2024, Hoopla circulation has climbed from roughly 1,300 steady monthly checkouts last year toward about 1,600 this year, and museum-pass use is up about 20% year over year. Roderick also said library visits have increased roughly 11.7% so far in 2025 compared with 2024. He told the board the library has converted five more passes to digital distribution, bringing digital pass availability to about half of the total (compared with one digital pass in 2024).
Board members and patrons who tested the app described mixed experiences. One board member, speaking during public comment, urged clearer charts and suggested baseline choices can mislead readers: “When you're doing graphs, the baseline should be 0,” the board member said. Other patrons praised speed and ease: one longtime user told the board the app was quicker than the library website and said holds and checkouts were easy to access. Several patrons and board members reported intermittent logouts, slow initial load times while the app caches browse categories, and occasional crashes.
Roderick and other staff said many issues are known to the Minuteman network and developers and that the rollout is iterative. A library staff speaker explained the network bundled the app with a new Aspen search interface and said the library expects savings compared with the previous vendor but will continue to work with the developer on performance fixes and usability improvements. The board heard staff ask patrons for real-time feedback; staff said some fixes (for example persistent login and load behavior) were priorities before broader usability testing.
Why this matters: The app centralizes circulation, mobile reservations and museum-pass booking, and the library projects continued growth in digital borrowing. Staff told the board the new features could reduce some in-person work (for example, digital passes and remote checkouts) but that full benefits depend on developer fixes and patron adoption.
The board did not take a formal vote on the app itself; the presentation was part of the reports section and the library staff described next steps for implementation and monitoring.
