Support

Last updated 4 October 2026.

Email bookvault@pikeworks.co.uk, or tap the speech bubble at the top of any screen in the app. I read every one myself, so please say which phone you're on and which version of the app you have. The version is at the bottom of Settings.

Common questions

How do I add a book?

Tap the plus at the top of Reading or Library, then pick one of three ways. Search takes a title, an author or an ISBN. Scan reads the barcode on the back of the book, and stays open after each one, so you can go along a whole shelf one book after another. By hand is for anything Open Library doesn't know. Then choose the format (print, ebook or audiobook) and the shelf it goes on.

How do I add a whole series at once?

Open the first book to add it. When the series is known, a panel under its details says so, for example "Book 1 of 5 in The Stormlight Archive", with Add the whole series. That lists every book of it in order, with the ones you don't have yet ticked. Change the ticks, tap Add, and pick the shelf for all of them: Want to read, Read, or reading the first with the rest to Want to read. Each book keeps its number in the series. For a book already in your library, open it and tap Add the rest of the series.

Series come from Wikidata, which knows most series but not all. For one it doesn't know, search for it, tap Pick several and tap the books in order. They're numbered as you go.

Where are my stats for every year?

At the top of the Year tab, tap All-time stats. It covers every book you've finished: your genres, the decades the books were written in and the average year, average length and rating, books per year, the authors and series you read most, and your records. Genres come from Open Library's subjects for each book, so a book added by hand has none.

How do I update my progress?

Open the book and tap Update progress. Use the buttons to nudge it along, type the page you're on, or switch to a percentage and slide. An audiobook counts in hours and minutes instead of pages. If your copy has a different number of pages to the one shown, change it in Edit details. Reaching the end offers to finish the book.

How do quarter stars work?

Tap a star for a whole or half star, depending on which side of it you tap. Slide your finger along the row for quarters, and you'll feel a small tick at each one. Tap the same rating again to clear it, because not rated and one star aren't the same thing.

I'm reading a book again. How do I keep both reads?

Move it from Read to Reading with the shelf button on its page. That starts a new read and the first one keeps its dates. For a re-read from before you had the app, use Add a read under Reading history. Tap Edit beside any read to change when you started or finished it. If you don't remember, leave the date out.

The cover or the page count is for the wrong edition.

Open the book, tap the menu at the top and choose Choose another edition. Pick the one that matches your copy and its cover and page count come with it. You can also take a photo of your own copy with Change the cover, or correct anything at all with Edit details.

How do I bring my books across from Goodreads?

On the Goodreads website, open My Books, then Import and export, then Export library. Save the file to your phone. In Book Vault, open Settings, then Import from Goodreads or StoryGraph, and choose the file. You see what will be added before anything is written. Shelves, ratings, reviews, tags, read dates and re-reads come with the books, and covers fill in by themselves afterwards.

And from The StoryGraph?

In The StoryGraph, open Manage account and choose Export StoryGraph library. Save the file it emails or downloads to your phone, then import it the same way, from Settings.

How do I back up my library?

Settings, Back up to a file, writes one file with every book, every read, your quotes and the cover photos you took. Keep it somewhere other than your phone. Restore from a backup puts the books in it back, replacing the same books if they're already there; books only on the phone stay as they are. Covers that came from Open Library aren't in the file, because they come back by themselves once you're online.

Settings also has Export a spreadsheet, a CSV in Goodreads' own layout, so your library opens anywhere and can go into another reading app. Both are free.

I'm getting a new phone.

If your phone backs up to your Google account or to iCloud, your library usually comes across with the rest of your apps. To be sure, make a backup file on the old phone first, copy it to the new one, install Book Vault and use Restore from a backup.

Where is my library kept?

On your phone. There's no account and nothing is uploaded. The app only goes online to look books and covers up on Open Library and series on Wikidata, and your library works without a connection.

Can I delete everything?

Uninstalling the app removes your library, because all of it is on the phone. Make a backup first if you might want it again.