How to Use Beanstack

"How to beanstack" with a blue heart icon.

Important: 

  • If you already had an account but you’ve forgotten your password, library staff can reset it for you. Or if you've changed your email address, staff can update it for you. Don’t create a new account!
  • If you accidentally made yourself or a child two accounts, talk to staff. We can merge accounts.
  • If both you and another parent or caregiver are logging for a child, don't create the child two accounts. You can share a reader with more than one account; see directions below.
  • When logging into the app, search for our library, don’t log into Beanstack Go. 

 

If you are using Beanstack for the FIRST TIME:

Website Version

Go to buchanan.beanstack.org

  • Click Register an Individual or Family.
  • Click I am registering myself and fill out the form.
  • Click Next to add additional family members.

Beanstack Tracker App

Download the App from your app store

  • Open App and touch Find Your School or Library.
  • Type in “Buchanan.”
  • Touch Sign up!
  • Follow the prompts to create an account and complete the Registration for you.
  • Touch Add a Reader for additional family members.
Once you’ve registered/logged into your account:

Website version

  • Register for a Challenge. Beanstack will automatically present challenges that fit your Reader’s age group.
  • Begin tracking your reading and activities by clicking on Log Reading or Complete Activity on the top left of the page.
  • Use the drop-down menu under your name to switch Readers and log for a child’s account.
  • To edit a reader’s information, select the gear icon at the top right of the screen.
  • To see what rewards you've earned for a specific challenge, click on that challenge, then go to the Rewards tab.
  • To view your reading log for a specific challenge, click on that challenge, then go to the Challenge Log tab.

Beanstack Tracker App

  • Touch Discover at the bottom of the screen to register for a challenge.
  • Touch the + (Plus sign) to log reading and activities. Choose reader to pick who you want to log for. When logging reading, you can search for a title or log without a title. Quick Complete will log a book all at once (don't use for Minutes challenges like Summer Reading). Start Timer times your reading session. With Log Reading you can add books or minutes manually.
  • Log shows you books and activities you’ve recorded.
  • Switch Readers by touching the initials (or photo) at the top right of the screen.
  • Under Settings (gear icon) you can also add a reader or edit your information.
  • To see what rewards you've earned for a specific challenge, tap on that challenge, then go to the Rewards tab.
  • To view your reading log for a specific challenge, tap on that challenge, then go to the Challenge Log tab.

The Beanstack Tracker App will sync with the web version. If you log on the app, it will also appear on the web version, and vice versa. Make sure you’ve registered for a challenge for your books to count! Need more help? Checkout Buchanan's Beanstack FAQ page,  stop by the library, or give us a call at 269-695-3681!

Tutorials & FAQs

Tutorial: How to Share a Reader with Another Beanstack Account 

Do you want to share your child’s Beanstack account with another parent, teacher, or caregiver?

  • Log onto buchanan.beanstack.org in your web browser (this won’t work in the app).
  • Click the reader name in the upper right corner of the screen, then switch to the reader you’d like to share by clicking their name.
  • Once you see the correct reader in the upper corner, click that reader name again, then click the “Edit” button to the right of their name.
  • Scroll down on that Personalize Reader page to “Share This Reader,” and enter the email address of the person you want to share the reader with.
  • Click send.
  • The recipient will receive an email saying that the account creator wants to share this reader, along with the Share Code.
  • The recipient can click the link in the email, which will prompt them to create a Beanstack account or to log in with an existing account (again, this needs to be done in a web browser and not the app).
  • They then need to click the “Share Code” link at the bottom right of any page on their Beanstack site.
  • Enter the code and click “Link Profile.”
  • If either of you want to stop sharing, go to that “Share Code” link at the bottom of the page and click “unlink” next to the reader’s name.

For more help, check out this article with screenshots and a video.

Tutorial: How to Use the Timer in Beanstack 

Step by step directions for how to use the timer in Beanstack. Tap or click to play and/or pause the slideshow.

Tutorial: How to Add Activities in Beanstack 

Step by step directions for how to add Activities in Beanstack. Tap or click to play and/or pause the slideshow.

Tutorial: How to See Points in Beanstack 

Step by step directions for how to see earned points in Beanstack. Tap or click to play and/or pause the slideshow. *Note- each point is worth 1 Reading Reward, but you earn them in increments of 5.

Question: How do I see how many Reading Rewards I haven't redeemed yet? 

Right now, unfortunately, there is a bug in the Beanstack app that doesn't accurately show which rewards have been redeemed. It seems to show all earned points rewards, which are our Reading Rewards, as available with the instructions to redeem them, even if they have already been redeemed. Activity rewards sometimes show redeemed and sometimes don't, regardless of whether they're still available or not. The best way to know how many Reading Rewards you have left to spend is either stop by the library or call 269-695-3681 and ask Front Desk staff to look it up for you. We can see from the staff side how many you have redeemed and how many remain to be spent (But please be patient with us, we see each reward listed individually, no totals, so we have to manually count them up).

Laura has informed Beanstack of this issue, and hopefully they will be able to fix it in the near future!