diff --git a/src/config.cr b/src/config.cr
index 0235556..44f7d6b 100644
--- a/src/config.cr
+++ b/src/config.cr
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ class Config
 	property db_path = File.expand_path "~/mango/mango.db", home: true
 
 	@[YAML::Field(key: "scan_interval_minutes")]
-	property scan_interval = 5
+	property scan_interval : Int32 = 5
 
 	def self.load
 		cfg_path = File.expand_path "~/.config/mango/config.yml", home: true
diff --git a/src/library.cr b/src/library.cr
index 8d416e4..7654648 100644
--- a/src/library.cr
+++ b/src/library.cr
@@ -142,13 +142,24 @@ class TitleInfo
 end
 
 class Library
-	JSON.mapping dir: String, titles: Array(Title)
+	JSON.mapping dir: String, titles: Array(Title), scan_interval: Int32
 
-	def initialize(@dir)
+	def initialize(@dir, @scan_interval)
 		# explicitly initialize @titles to bypass the compiler check. it will
-		#	be filled with actuall Titles in the `scan` call below
+		#	be filled with actual Titles in the `scan` call below
 		@titles = [] of Title
-		scan
+
+		return scan if @scan_interval < 1
+		spawn do
+			loop do
+				start = Time.local
+				puts "#{start} Starting periodic scan"
+				scan
+				ms = (Time.local - start).total_milliseconds
+				puts "Scanned #{@titles.size} titles in #{ms}ms"
+				sleep @scan_interval * 60
+			end
+		end
 	end
 	def get_title(name)
 		@titles.find { |t| t.title == name }
diff --git a/src/mango.cr b/src/mango.cr
index 4691a53..1d2d2d5 100644
--- a/src/mango.cr
+++ b/src/mango.cr
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ require "./library"
 require "./storage"
 
 config = Config.load
-library = Library.new config.library_path
+library = Library.new config.library_path, config.scan_interval
 storage = Storage.new config.db_path
 
 server = Server.new config, library, storage