It’s certainly been a while, hasn’t it? The last time we published a major update like this was a year ago, and I’d like to say it’s because we have something stellar to reveal right now. The reality is that the pandemic ruined everything, and we’ve been taking the time to try and get our collective act together. So, for all six people who actually read these things, thank you for bearing with us. We really try our best.
We’re Hiring!
If you want to join the Branda team, you can join us on Presence and email us for more info:
- Join on Presence: https://brandeis.presence.io/organization/branda
- Email: brandaapp1 AT gmail dot com
What’s New
New Library Hours Page
This page suffered from two issues:
- It didn’t look great.
- The schedule was often incorrect or out of date.
This release of Branda resolves both of these issues with a fresh design and a new backend API. The new design features the following:
- A section with the current day’s hours for the building and various library departments.
- A section with the hours for each day of the current week. In a later update, we will alter this to display the next seven days instead of the current week.
- The new backend API pulls information directly from the library’s scheduling system, making it more accurate and reliable than before.
Thanks to Brenda Cummings, Director of Public Services at the Brandeis Library, for hooking us up with the library’s scheduling API.
New Feedback Page
This page has not changed much since Branda was first introduced and it needed an update to reflect the changes that have occurred in the 4-odd-years since the app was released.
- The page now includes a few FAQs that should help resolve the most common questions.
- When you send feedback, we now collect information about your device in order for us to better understand any issues you may be having. What information is collected and how it is used is clarified in the app.
Other Changes
- The styling of the Dining hours page was changed to improve the consistency of spacing.
- The Gosman hours page now displays what day you have selected and has a button to take you to the current day.
- The reservation functionality was removed from the BranVan pages as requested by Public Safety.
- Upgraded to Expo SDK 43.
