A Schedule3W alternative built for public libraries
Keep the two-level desk scheduling you're used to. Drop the dated interface, the manual gap-hunting, and the bill that grows with your roster.
Free 30-day pilot · No credit card · Export your data anytime
Why libraries look for a Schedule3W alternative
Schedule3W has real desk-coverage modeling and loyal users, some of whom have run on it for years. The frustrations that send its users looking elsewhere are consistent, though:
The interface shows its age
The most common complaint from its own community. Day-to-day scheduling lives in a grid that looks and works like the software of fifteen years ago.
Coverage gaps hide in plain sight
Nothing flags an uncovered desk. You find gaps by reading the whole grid — or by walking past an empty desk on the day.
Reports take effort to read
Hours and coverage reports exist, but turning them into something a board or grant report can use means manual work.
The price grows with your people
Pricing scales with staff count and concurrent schedulers, so adding volunteers or a second scheduler moves the bill.
Kickstool vs. Schedule3W, honestly
Both are real library scheduling tools. Here is where they differ, including the places where Schedule3W is still ahead.
| What you're scheduling | Schedule3W | Kickstool |
|---|---|---|
| Desk scheduling model | Two-level scheduling: work windows with service-point assignments inside them. Its most-loved feature. | Same model: shifts with per-assignment service points. If your schedule fits Schedule3W's structure, it fits here. |
| Covering a callout | Drag-and-drop shift edits on the grid, down to 15-minute blocks. | Real drag too, in Day view: drag a shift onto someone else's row to hand it off, drag an edge to resize, drag on empty space to create one. The week grid itself stays click-to-fill for the fast weekly glance — uncovered hours are a button there, pre-filled with the desk and time, people sorted by who's free and trained. |
| Finding coverage gaps | Manual — you find uncovered desks by reading the grid. | Understaffed slots are flagged automatically, before the day they happen. |
| Staff experience | Desktop-era interface; staff mostly ask the scheduler. | Shifts land in the calendar app staff already use (Google, Outlook, or Apple) and keep updating; time off and coverage offers work from a phone. |
| Reports | Basic reports that are hard to read at a glance. | Hours by person, desk, and date range — screen-readable and export-ready for boards and grant reports. |
| Recurring schedules | Recurring patterns including 2-week rotations. | Daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, or custom patterns that skip your closures, with one-off edits that don't break the series. |
| Pricing model | Scales with staff count and concurrent schedulers. | Published prices set by the size of the community you serve. Staff, volunteers, and branches are unlimited, so growing your volunteer corps costs nothing. |
From a library that switched
“It used to take me 10–15 minutes for a single shift change. Now it takes me 2.”
Who should switch — and who shouldn't
Different libraries, different right answers. We'd rather tell you now than after you've moved your schedule.
Kickstool is the better fit if
- Your volunteers outnumber (or rival) your staff — they're free here, never per-seat
- You find coverage gaps by looking, and you'd rather be told
- Staff ask you for their schedule instead of checking a phone or calendar
- You want a published price your board can read
Schedule3W may still serve you better if
- Grid-level drag is specifically what you want — ours lives in a dedicated Day view, not on the main week grid; race the two flows and see which one you'd actually keep reaching for
- You need features we deliberately don't build, like a punch-in time clock
Switching is our job, not yours
Send us your current schedule
Any format works: a Schedule3W export, a spreadsheet, even a photo of the whiteboard. You don't clean it up first.
See your own library, not a demo account
We import it for you, so the first time you open Kickstool it already shows your people, your desks, and your next two weeks.
Run both, then decide
Keep the old tool open alongside Kickstool during the pilot, and compare. After that it's one annual price, and one click exports everything you ever entered whether you stay or go.
Schedule3W switching questions
- Can Kickstool handle Schedule3W's two-level desk scheduling?
- Yes. Kickstool uses the same model: shifts with per-assignment service points. If your schedule fits Schedule3W's structure of work windows with desk assignments inside them, it fits Kickstool without reshaping.
- Does Kickstool have drag-and-drop like Schedule3W?
- In Day view, yes: drag a shift onto someone else's row to hand it off, drag an edge to resize, or drag on empty space to create one. The week grid itself is click-to-fill rather than drag — uncovered hours are a button, pre-filled with the desk and time.
- How do we move our schedule out of Schedule3W?
- Send your current schedule in any format — a Schedule3W export, a spreadsheet, even a photo of the whiteboard. We import it for you, so the first time you open Kickstool it already shows your people, desks, and next two weeks.
- How does Kickstool's pricing compare to Schedule3W's?
- Schedule3W's pricing scales with staff count and concurrent schedulers. Kickstool is priced by the size of the community you serve, not your staff count, with unlimited staff and branches. You can look up your library's price on the pricing page.
- When is Schedule3W still the better choice?
- If grid-level drag on the week view is specifically what you want, or if you need features Kickstool deliberately doesn't build, like a punch-in time clock. Run both during the free pilot and see which flow your schedulers keep reaching for.
Build the whole week on one screen.
Not a dated spreadsheet you have to decode. People down the side, the week across the top, every shift in its place. Flip to Service points to read the same week by desk — and spot the desks nobody's covering yet.
See your whole week on one screen.
Pilot Kickstool free, set up your library this afternoon, and schedule a real week — staff and volunteers together.