Coming this February: We will upgrade our library catalog/account system and will be able to offer many exciting new features. You’ll be able to get what you need faster and easier—whether you are at the Library, at home or on the go.
With the new features, you’ll be able to:
- Receive instant text message alerts for hold pick-ups
- Search the archive of historical images of Arlington
- Pay fines and fees online
- New privacy and security options
It’s a 21st century approach for libraries and we’re excited about bringing it to Arlington. We’re installing the new system the week of Feb. 13. During that time, our libraries will be open but there will be some limited access to services, including the catalog. More details during the coming weeks.
Look for updates on the Library website, Twitter and Facebook.
Having the reading history will be great. Thanks so much for making this change. I just hope that there is still a search interface similar to the Classic one that is now available.
Thanks, LT. We're glad you're looking forward to the new features. The new catalog has an "Advanced Search" screen, so you'll still be able to search directly by title, author, subject, etc. One catalog, more options!
Wow! Just what I need. I'd love to have a list of what I have read and would like to make comments about them. It would be great to have a list of what I want to read as my paper file is very crowded! To be truthful, I mostly listen to book on CD in the car. One of these days I will modernize that too. Great improvements all together.
This is wonderful. Now I won't have to put holds just to remember books I want to read. The history feature is another I'll use a lot. And I can't wait to try the new search. Thanks very much for these excellent new tools to access your wonderful collection. — Margaret Kertess
What is the privacy policy for the personal reading history? Is it generated only with reader choice (opt-in) or automatically? How long will the information be kept, to whom will it be accessible, and will the individual be able to edit it?Thank you.
Very interesting! It would be nice to know the policy on the topics bellow, ThanksAnonymous said… What is the privacy policy for the personal reading history? Is it generated only with reader choice (opt-in) or automatically? How long will the information be kept, to whom will it be accessible, and will the individual be able to edit it?
@ Anonymous: As Librarians, we share your concern for privacy. The reading history feature is optional. Participants must login to the online library account system with their library card number and a PIN to opt-in to the service. The reading history is never made available to staff at the service desks. The reading history can be kept for several years, but participants can opt-out and/or delete the history at any time.
I wonder if it will be possible to categorize the wish list of "books to read"
You'll be able to create multiple lists and name them, so you can organize your reading however you like.
Will you be able to put holds on individual DVD's for TV shows? The most frustrating part of the system is that you can't place TV shows on hold.
@ Anonymous re: Holds,Yes, the new catalog will be more flexible with holds. You'll be able to place a hold on an individual volume of a DVD TV series, or a specific year of a travel guide. We're glad to see this change too!
All these updates sounds great. I'm keeping this book journal of all the books I've read, but for a couple of months I forgot to write in the book journal and forgot when and what I had read. The history of reads and lists to read for library patrons sounds excellent. Bless the designer of this new system. He/She was quite intuitive to the needs of us all. Thanks.
who can access my reading history?can you also communicate updates such as closures, fines via text message?why was it necessary to change it? what did it cost?can we opt out of my reading records kept?will all the same services will be available?can i search google books or other libraries through the new system?
@ S:Glad to hear that you think so – we're excited about the list options, too!
Many thanks for bringing a new system online. Will the personal list of items we want to place on hold go away each time we log out as it does now? It would be useful if our "wish lists," as well as our books read history, would stay intact until we reserved a book. I'm one who frequently reaches the limit of 15 items on hold, with more I wish to put on hold.Also, will the mobile catalog be available on an Android smart-phone? When looking at your mobile readers compatible with e-books, no Android phone was on your list and I had a board meeting to attend last night so couldn't attend your session on e-books.Thanks.Dixie
Hello Anonymous Jan. 6, 10:20 p.m.–Thanks for your questions. We'll be adding more blog posts about the great new catalog features during the coming weeks so stay tuned.Answers regarding reading histories can be found above from "The Librarians." Text messages will be just for holds but the Library will continue to also use email, Twitter, Facebook and blogs to communicate on a variety of issues.We'll check into the possibility of Google Books adaptation. The Arlington Public Library catalog won't be linked to those of other libraries but most of those catalogs are available through the Web. The Library's current catalog/accounts system was installed 12 years ago and a lot has changed since then in terms of technology and maintainence. The system installed next month–a project of the Library, Arlington Public Schools and the Friends of Arlington Public Library–will actually pay for itself in just a few years because upkeep will be less expensive.Please keep checking back with us for updates on the transition and the new system. We appreciate your enthusiasm.
This sounds great — thanks especially for the mobile version, and the ability to request just one disc of a multi-disc TV set. If the visual search Java applet AquaBrowser thing is no longer the default on the catalog — THAT would be awesome!Thanks a lot in advance for the new catalog system, it sounds like a real upgrade over the current version.
The big feature that I didn't see but I hope is there is the ability to set a vacation hold AFTER I placed the original hold. Sometimes my holds take months to get through the system and to me, and it would be nice to be able to suspend the hold on weeks I'm out of town.
Glad to hear you are going to add a PIN! Following up on the previous commenters on privacy, Can you please post your full privacy policy? Now especially with personal reading histories, ebooks and other online services being offered, people deserve to know the details of what is being stored and who has access to their reading, searching, other information.
@zekepeterz – Good news: in the new account system the list can be sorted by checkout date or due date, your choice.This is a completely new system (not just an upgrade), so you'll want to explore all the new options when they are available in February. We hope you'll be impressed!
@ Dixie: Yes, the "wish lists" will stay with your account until you delete them, even after you log out. Quite an improvement, we know! The new mobile catalog will work on most devices, including Android phones. For more details, see this post. As for ebooks, we just announced some compatibility for Android last month. Check this post, and let us know if you have questions.
This sounds like a wonderful update– for one thing I won't have to use my Amazon Cart as a reminder of what I want to check out at the library any more. Mobile will be nice, too, to capture those spontaneous friend recommendations, for example.Not sure if it would be related to this upgrade/change, but one thing that has generally frustrated me is when the Checked Out list is shown it seems to come up in a random order–wouldn't a default Sort by Due Date be useful to most people?
Hello Anonymous January 12, 4:38 p.m.–Thanks for bringing up the issue of privacy involving the new catalog/account system we'll be installing next month. Because of the new features like the PIN and reading history (which will be for users to opt-in only if they choose and which will not be accessible to staff), we'll be posting a new policy on privacy in the coming weeks. We want you to feel completely comfortable using the new system and some of the optional features.
I don't need these functions to be online (and available presumably to whomever). I keep my own booklists. Every time you tinker with the system, some functionality I really value is lost. For example, the only way it seems to search with media limits (DVDs, for example), date or branch limits is in the classic catalog version. If you remove this “old” version, then PLEASE restore these functions in another place to do an advanced search. Also, you might put some money into the “search” function itself. Even searching for a specific author name or book title brings up an awful lot nonrelated stuff because the search function seems to be on each word; there is no way to put quotes around a search I could find (and how about Boolean search?). Another function that has been lost is ability to copy the lists of items charged out or on hold from “My Account.” When I try to cut-and-paste just the entry lists (to avoid printing several pages of extraneous stuff), the tables now collapse and all the items run together. Presumably the new “improved” system will have a function for maintaining these lists? Another function that was once available and I haven’t seen in years, is comprehensive listing of new materials acquired (for example, the old paper lists of new DVDs at Central). I know you have a few “what’s new” lists, but they’re no more than 20 or so items. And why does any listing these days have to have a picture of the book cover? Do you really need to take amazon.com as a model? I’d rather have something that can easily be easily saved in a document, edited, and printed.
Hey! Your new system sounds pretty cool. I'm looking forward to checking it out.
Can we be sure that all library materials will actually accessible in the new catalog? Currently, there are cases where you can't find items in the Classic catalog, even though the library owns them and they can be accessed using the the Visual catalog.GS
Kudos to you, for working hard to include these amazing-sounding features. I love APL because you work so hard to stay innovative and push technology forward! Keep up the good work.
@Anonymous 9:16 AM – The new system will offer one Catalog, with basic and advanced search options. The search of the library's collection should be thorough, no matter which way you choose to construct your query. Another plus: With the new Catalog you can easily switch between Basic and Advanced Search, and these two searches look and act very similar (unlike the current Visual and Classic Catalogs, which look and act very different from one another).
I love the reading history section! I spend so much time keeping my own lists it will be great just to check in with the library and see what I've read. THANK YOU!
Does the new system have an API so that I can (for example) add to my wishlist from my mobile device, or access my reading history from other programs?
Is this the same system that the NYPL uses? I wasn't a huge fan of that one while I lived up there in the last year. Just curious.
Regarding the privacy issues and the list of books one has read, is it possible to select which books to save on that list? What happens if someone wants to save novels but doesn't want to save selfhelp/disease/child psych/political books on their list. From what I've read above it says one has to opt in to the system, but I couldn't figure out if a person could save ONLY want they want to save and delete sensitive titles.
@Anonymous February 5, 2011 10:13 PMNYPL does work with the same software company, but the product is customized for each library. We hope you'll like our version better.
I have been a user of Arlington Central Library for over 5 years, and I am continually impressed by the services and how the library continues to improve. I especially love how the library has embraced the high tech age. Keep up the good work! This is local government services at their best!
@Anonymous February 6, 2011 11:58 AMGood question – if you opt-in to the reading history, the system keeps a list of all the titles you check out. But yes, you are able to mark and delete individual titles from your history as you wish.
I hope it works better than the old system which didn't handle non ie browsers very well
Evrything is getting too complicated. The personal touch, communication, working with a live friendly human is disappearing in every walk of life. TOO BAD.
Hello Anonymous Feb. 7 12:38 PM–Don't worry–Arlington Public Library will always offer you the great live, friendly and very human staff and volunteers you've always known. The new system coming later this month should make using the Library less complicated. And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask in person or by phone or via the Web. We're here for you.
re: Holds,The ability to place a holds on individual DVDs in a TV series will be a welcome change! I'll be able to to start with volume 1 — which really makes sense!!
What happens to the holds that have been placed before the change? I have been waiting for some of them for several weeks, even months? Will they be carried over to the new system?
I ahve the same question re: holds; that is, I have quite a few that were marked "in process-received" when I put them on hold in early January, and my whole list seems to be at a standstill. Is the library waiting until the new system is up and running before getting those books into it? And, are holds really going to be on the shelf this weeK/ I also have a few that have been "in transit" for longer than usual. Thanks so much!
All I can say is GREAT JOB. I currently have library accounts in a number of cities on both coasts of the U.S.A. and by comparison the Arlington Public Library is a Head & Shoulder above all the others. For me you have always been A Giant Leap Forward. Thank all of you and continue doing what you do best.
Please keep the Classic Catalogue search option, the one that is on this page: Please don't get rid of it!
I look forward to the new Library Catalog System. Way back when, before Acorn, in the old Classic search system, there were Boolean search terms that allowed one to do something very important: to search for all of ArlCoLib's new stuff, in chronological order based on how recently it became acquired and catalogued. This ability was lost with the first iteration of Acorn, and seemed kind of hit-or-miss with the updates up to now. Will this searching ability re-appear with the new system? Thanks. It's a very useful tool. If I know what you had in the system last year but only want to know what new items (eg, for audio cd's) you have acquired, I will not have to poke around with different search strategies hoping I hit on one or more that generate the latest stuff you have acquired. I could settle for boolean search terms with wildcards like pre-Acorn had; not a problem. However, it would be much easier if it were listed as a single, linear search option (ie: Books Acquired by Year (in Ascending or Descending Order). Rob
Anonymouses from Feb 8 Regarding hold lists -Your hold list will be carried over to the new system.Regarding "in-process" items – We had to slow down our processing in order to prepare for this transition. In fact, at this point we have stopped making any changes in the old system. But as soon as we've got the new system up and running, we'll resume processing the new items that have been received.Regarding "in transit" items – These will remain in transit until we have the new system up. You can read more here.
Very glad to hear about the new system! Will I be able to I get "similar-to- this" book recommendations like the ones that appear in my account, but just on request? That is, is it possible to get recommendations without placing a hold or checking out a book? For instance, I have a favorite author– and I own all of his books.Thanks, L.S.
My wife and I are regular users of the Arlington County Public Library, and have been particularly struck with the positive interactions with all the Library personnel. Though the "new" system appears to increase efficiency, access, and service, it also further separates clients from Library staff. The fact of the matter is, at the present it is really quite difficult to telephone the Library and speak with a real person. This "new" service will further distant customers from dealing with live human beings. Sort of sad really.Col & Mrs. John C. McKay
It would have been helpful if this post had noted that many library services would be unavailable for more than a week. I had no idea that the library's online services and holds would be unavailable, despite logging into the library website daily. Library staff did a bad job communicating this disruption in services.
Hello, I received an email that my digital media epub is ready for check out, but I am not able to log in. This is the error message, "Sign In Error We're sorry, but the specified library patron account information is not valid. Details: Failed to connect socket. (Socket Error Code #10061: "No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it.")I am not doing anything differently than previous downloads, i.e am typing my card number correctly. Is this inablitity to log in due to the switch?Will I loose my hold status. The email notification states, "The following title is now available for check out and will be held for you for 3 days from the time this email was sent…If you do not check this title out within 3 days, the hold on this title will expire." Thank you for your help.
Anonymous on Feb. 14, in regards to eHolds -OverDrive has just activated a special interim authentication for our migration period, but it wasn't turned on this morning.Starting now, if you receive an email saying that your eBook or eAudio holds are available this week, you can still login to OverDrive and download them. However, this means that the 3 day checkout period will still be in effect for OverDrive holds.
Very excited about these changes. To all those patrons who don't want to keep lists on here for the "to read" books, check out goodreads.com. I keep my virtual list there, and then go through the list and put the books I want on hold as I am ready to read new books
I wish you hadn't taken the catalog offline for the whole week. I really needed it this week!
In order to streamline the conversation, we've moved comments/question on the new catalog system and transition to the Library Catalog Transition FAQ.