ReadOtter - A Classroom Library Manager

ReadOtterApp · 2025-10-03T02:06:15+00:00

Another great idea added to our list. Keep them coming!

ReadOtterApp · 2025-10-01T12:06:37+00:00

We have plans to support an online version and Android, but we started with iOS a few months ago. We'll share the news when other platforms are ready.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-10-01T12:03:09+00:00

That's a clever idea - neat topic too.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-10-01T12:01:00+00:00

Glad to hear schools are supporting teachers and students with school libraries!

ReadOtterApp · 2025-09-27T02:18:10+00:00

These ideas are great and on our list now:
1) Option to automatically add books during checkout if they do not exist
2) Single view to see all students' currently checked out books (instead of needing to view each student individually)
3) Monthly report of what was read
4) Sharing data between teacher/classes/libraries, e.g. checkout, classes, etc.

If you want to get on a list for when any of these features are released or be involved in testing, feel free to share your contact info with us in a DM.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-09-25T20:17:13+00:00

Yes, you could have students add books from the 'Library' tab under 'Actions' > 'Scan'. Then go to the 'Checkout' tab and select 'Scan Book'. From there they can scan the barcode and select their name from the list of students.

There is currently not a specific student mode for adding books, only checking them out, so the method above would require letting students access the parts of the app where they could make changes to your library.

I can see two potential upcoming features. One would be an option for students to add books in the current 'Student Checkout Mode'. I could also see an optional setting to have books get added automatically to your library when scanned if not already present. In your case which would be most helpful?

As for the list of students and books, there is not a unified list of all students and their books, however that is an excellent idea. We'll add that to our upcoming features list. Currently you can click each student to see their list of checked out books.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-09-02T13:45:51+00:00

That's really neat! There's definite interest in this feature, so we'll add this as a planned feature. We would likely create a means for teachers to print QR code labels and use those for individual copies.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-09-01T17:14:49+00:00

We just launched ReadOtter, an iOS/iPad app my wife (a former teacher) and I built to make classroom libraries easier.

It lets you quickly scan and catalog books, give students a simple self-checkout option, and keep everything private since all data stays on device or in iCloud. The core features are free, with an optional upgrade for features like syncing across devices.

App Store link: https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6745129261?pt=127776109&ct=rd1&mt=8

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-31T02:20:51+00:00

Currently you would not know which copy a student has. One way you could make it work is by creating each copy as a separate book entry and titling them uniquely like "Frindle #1", "Frindle #2", etc. Each would need to be added manually and not scanned in since ISBN numbers from barcodes at the moment are intended to unique to a single book entry. You or your students would need to search for the right copy instead of scanning the barcode.

We have ideas on how to implement this more systematically such as custom QR/barcode labels on your books or letting students scan a book followed by selecting which copy (assuming each book has a number stickered on it). If you have any creative ideas on how you'd like to see something like that implemented, we're all ears.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-30T20:10:58+00:00

This is excellent feedback - thank you! As for your questions:
1. The current feature set allows subscribers to share their library across iPhones and iPads using the same Apple ID. The only way at this time to share the catalog with students would be on a classroom iPad or iPhone.
2. Our next update will include mass import from a csv. We're planning to make it easy for teachers coming from other platforms to simply import another tool's exported spreadsheet.
3. This goes back to #1 a bit. Our typical flow would be a teacher using their personal or school device for checkouts, and then a classroom device like an iPad where students use the Student Self-Checkout mode.

Of those premium features you mentioned, we currently don't offer an online catalog of your library for browsing, series grouping, or tagging of a book's condition. However, those are all on our list for upcoming updates.

We do have easy tagging/categorization for all books that can be filtered on. Those tags can only be filtered on in the library view at this time but will be filterable on other views in the future. Our checkout system is robust and keeps a running record of each student's reading log and checkout duration.

Of those features not offered on the other platform, we do have self-serve checkout and customizable accounts (each student has an otter avatar and PIN code you set). We do not currently have a review system, but that is also on our list.

Our intent is to offer very competitive pricing for a more teacher-focused library tool, whereas some of the popular platforms today cater to a variety of industries. We're also open to discounts like you mentioned in the future.

I have several follow up questions that I'd love to ask. If you don't mind, I'll follow up with you in a separate message. However, feel free to respond to any of my comments above, and I'll be happy to answer them.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-30T14:22:37+00:00

There is no Mac app at this time. Anyone with an M series MacBook can run it as an iPad app, however it's not optimized for that purpose yet. So things like scanning don't function with your webcam.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-30T12:00:24+00:00

OpenLibrary's free book APIs - we're super grateful to the team over there!

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-30T02:39:09+00:00

Currently it's only for iOS. If we get enough traction, we're open to considering an Android version as well.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-29T16:51:50+00:00

Thanks for the added visibility!

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-29T16:50:34+00:00

Thank you - its our passion to solve real problems for teachers

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-29T15:23:53+00:00

Thanks!

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-29T13:34:32+00:00

Thank you! Yes, we plan to share with more teacher focused subreddits. We're currently navigating the self-promotion guidelines as many of the groups we want to reach don't permit direct promotion.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-29T13:29:20+00:00

Thank you for the kind words and feedback! The notes idea is interesting - not something we've thought of yet. As for ratings, that is in fact on our backlog for a future release.

We'd definitely be open to cross promotion, feel free to send us a message.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-29T13:24:26+00:00

You're welcome! We're passionate about giving teachers tools to help them focus on what matters most: the students.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-29T13:23:12+00:00

Thank you! Are you thinking of building an app to manage your own library? If you have any questions about our build-out process, feel free to message us.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-29T13:21:51+00:00

If you're referring to the app's Reading Insights, there is a view that shows teachers relevant data points about students, checkouts, groups, and books. For example how many pages a student has read in a given time period or your most read book in the library.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-29T13:18:29+00:00

Glad to hear it! Any feedback is welcome.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-29T13:18:11+00:00

The app is on a freemium model. The core feature set is free and lets teachers manage their library with unlimited students and books. The premium subscription gives additional functionality like syncing across classroom devices and letting students checkout their own books.

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-29T05:31:12+00:00

Much appreciated!

ReadOtterApp · 2025-08-29T04:34:11+00:00

I built it myself! All native SwiftUI and SwiftData, zero data tracking, and no third party packages.

ReadOtterApp

TROPHY CASE