r/Libraries • u/wickedwinterbear • 20h ago
Education - Library School Beanstack Question
So I have an account for my kids and myself that we logged books for the summer reading program through my public library card. Now that my son is in kindergarten, they have an separate account for him using his school credentials. Is there a way to link the personal account and school account so his book count stays the same and he doesn't have to start over?
For additional info: We read at least 4 books every single night since he was born and started logging them this summer. So he is already at 205+ books logged. They have a challenge to read 500 books before middle school and he wants a button on his lanyard they have.
3
u/Zellakate 20h ago
You can reach out to Beanstack and ask, but about 3 years ago, when my library stopped using Beanstack and I got a personal account, there was no way to easily port info from one account to another if they were in different systems. I had to manually add nearly 1,000 days of reading and around 150 books. If it is all under the 1 library system though, it may be possible it doesn't have to be manual.
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u/wickedwinterbear 20h ago
Oh my gosh. That's awful!
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u/Zellakate 20h ago
Thank you! It was very annoying, but I ended up doing it and have maintained my streak since then. I would definitely recommend checking with Beanstack before doing all that work though. I have always had good experiences with their customer service even when they were telling me what I didn't want to hear. LOL
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u/jellyn7 20h ago
You should consider getting an account on Story Graph, then you're not at the whims of whoever is hosting the Beanstack shutting it down when they realize it costs too much or no longer 'aligns with their mission' or whatever.
That is if you want a personal record of what he (and your other kids, and you) have read that persists.
Then I'd probably also export it every year, so you've got a local copy.
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u/wickedwinterbear 17h ago
He actually does, and I do too! We are in a race to get to 1,000 books together before he goes to 1st grade. So far we are at 397, with 12 more months to go.
He just has to use Beanstack specifically for his school nightly readings and for prizes based on participation.
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u/punkin_pie Public librarian 10h ago
A year or two ago Beanstack created a way to connect school with public libraries. To set up a tandem account, both orgs have to agree and Beanstack activates the connection. Check with either library and say you are interested in being able to connect and access challenges from both through one account.
Source: librarian that manages our Beanstack and set up tandem services with our school library partner.
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u/DanieXJ 18h ago
So, can we have a flair that says "Have you asked your local librarian?" Oy....
Download the data, use Google Sheets (or your other preferred spreadsheet program)
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u/SquirrelEnthusiast 16h ago
Beanstack is a different beast, don't even
Signed, a children's librarian
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u/wickedwinterbear 17h ago
Yup, did that. She said she had no clue and to contact support. Still waiting on support to respond to me. But yes, he has to log into the system to keep track of his nightly reading. They use that information as a competition grade level wise and school wise. Highest school with highest reading minutes and books read get prizes. This is specifically Beanstack I'm asking about.
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u/Captain_Trina 20h ago edited 20h ago
Ooh, unfortunately probably not. Each organization's Beanstack is via a different "server." There is a way to add multiple organizations on the Beanstack app, but you would still have to switch between them (and dual log if he's trying to work on a school program and a library program at the same time).
(Also, re:500 before middle school, I believe the intention is to start that specific count at Kindergarten, since libraries that run it are generally continuing on from the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten campaign and obviously they don't want those kids to "auto complete" the school age challenge.)