**UPDATED 3/3/11**
Do you have your account PIN yet?
** UPDATED 2/23/11 **
Now that the new system has been up for about a week, we’ve had time to fix some of the issues that are inevitable with a project of this scope:
- Emailed holds notices have resumed – you can also find holds updates in your account.
- Catalog stations are working again at all Library locations.
- We’ve had to suspend temporarily the catalog’s preview offerings from Google Books because of a software conflict.
** Thanks for your continued patience and your comments in our survey.**
It’s here: Your new Arlington Public Library catalog and account system.
Take a look around, visit your account and try a search or two. You’ll see the new system provides what you need faster and easier than before.
Ready for you to use now–
- Your Lists – You can start saving your checkout history and rating favorites.
- Mobile – Explore the catalog system on your mobile device at http://m.libsys.arlingtonva.us/
- Holds – The holds system is back and pick-up notices will go out soon.
- Self Checkout – Fast and convenient, and now at every Arlington Public Library location.
- New Catalog Demonstration – Get a guided tour of the new catalog at our “Meet the New Catalog” sessions on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 7 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 24, 2 p.m., in Central Auditorium.
A few things to help you navigate the new system —
- Create your PIN – You’ll be asked to create a four-digit PIN (Private Information Number) code for your account the first time you use it. This will give added security to your account, lists and reading history.
- Log Out (NEW) – Remember to log out of your account after using a public machine.
- Bookmarking for Updates and News – We suggest bookmarking the Library home page instead of specific catalog pages so as not to miss late-breaking news and events.
- Usernames, Online Payments and Text Message Hold Notification – These systems are still being tested, and will be rolled out over the next few days.
- Telephone Hold Notifications – The Library’s automated telephone notification system for holds is temporarily unavailable. In the meantime, if you normally receive such phone messages, please call Circulation at 703-228-5940 or your branch for updates on your holds or to get notifications by email. You can also switch to emails through your account online.
Tell us what you think – Fill out this short survey after you’ve used the new Catalog.
We want to thank all of our users for your patience during the recent transition, and we hope you enjoy this upgrade in technology. Keep up with all our updates by following us on our news blog, Twitter and (our new page on) Facebook.
We'd really like to get detailed feedback on the new catalog system, so once you've used it please fill out this short survey.
One thing that's different with the new system, possibly not for the better: When looking at a list of my holds now, it says something like "4 of 32 holds." It used to tell me how many copies of the book the library owned, so I could judge how long it might take me to get to the front of the line. That seems like more relevant info than the number of holds people have placed for the book.
I would really like to use the list system to track what i've read, how i liked it, and what I would like to read in the future, but though I keep reading about it, I haven't found anything that explains how I can actually utilize it. Am I missing the site that describes how to do that?
In the hold section, what is "freeze"?
Can't login even after I setup my PIN. Other than that it works great! Used to use the Research a Topic feature all the time. Now I can't. Perhaps the library should have sent out an e-mail, to all users that have provided one, with information and instructions. John Kennedy was right "Washington, DC – northern hospitality and southern efficiency"
Anonymous on Feb. 19 -If you click on the item in your hold list that will take you to the item record, where you can quickly see how many copies we own.
Anonymous on Feb. 20, regarding how to create lists -To create a list -1. Start by searching for an item in the catalog. 2. When you find something you want to include on a list ("to read" for instance), click on "Add to Cart"3. When you have added one or more items to your cart, scroll to the top of the catalog page and click on "My Library Cart" in the upper right hand corner. This will show you all the items you have chosen so far.4. Select the items you want to add to the same list by clicking or unclicking in the square next to the titles.5. Click on "Save to List." This is where you can add the items to an existing list, or create a new list.6. To see your lists, log into or go to "My Account" and click on "My Lists."We'll add more on how to manage and use lists this week – thanks for bring out attention to the need for documentation!
Anonymous on Feb. 20, about "freeze holds" -The "freeze" option allows you to suspend your holds if you think they may come in while you're out of town or otherwise unable to pick them up.A frozen hold will continue to move up in the queue but when it reaches #1, it will remain there until you reactivate the hold. To reactivate the hold, unclick the freeze box and update the hold status.
No idea what this pertains to -Sorry to hear that your PIN set-up seems not to have worked. Since you need to log into many of our Research Portal sites with your Library card and PIN, we'll have to help you reset it before you can use them again.The Library is closed Monday for Presidents Day, so please call Central on Tuesday between 10 am and 9 pm, and we can help you to reset your PIN.
"If you click on the item in your hold list that will take you to the item record, where you can quickly see how many copies we own."That's useful, but it would be way more useful not to have click each item to see that. The old system displayed that on the main hold screen, and that was much more useful than the new system, which tells me how many other people have holds (which isn't really useful at all).
It used to show a list of which libraries had the item in question (different branches) but now it's just showing Central for the items I've searched. Does this mean the views of the other branches aren't available any longer or does it mean the books are only located at Central?
When will the alternate usernames be available?And is there a list of new features available? What is different from the old system?
am hoping that the new system will let you sort books by type – i.e., "book on cd" or "playaway" – sometimes I'm just looking for a good book on tape and have to scroll through pages of regular books to pick out the one or two that my general search brings up.
Anonymous on Feb. 21, in regards to item locations – There are some kinks in the catalog that are still being worked out, but without further information we can't get to the bottom of your question. If you call the Library today (Central Ref is open from 10am – 9 pm, @703-228-5959) or email AskALibrarian, and give us the title of the item in question, we can help you out.In the meantime, you can also double check that you haven't set your search to Central only.
Anonymous on Feb. 21, in regards to searching by format -The advanced search allows you to do a keyword search by format (France / audiobook on CD, for instance). You can also use the links on the main catalog page to browse lists of new items by format.
Anonymous on Feb. 21, in regards to creating Usernames -Usernames are coming soon, but we can't say exactly when yet – but we'll let you know as soon as the option is available. When it is set up, you will be able to log into your account and create it there. To see a list of the new features available with the new system, just re-read this post. The first section includes a list of the new features, and links to more information about them.
Most of the items I want to keep in a list are books that are not yet published that I want to put on hold when they become available in your system. I have been doing that with little pieces of paper and was so looking forward to creating a list of those items with publication dates 2-3 months out. Is there some way to do that?
Here is something I find distracting and cluttered on the book search results page: Under the title and author of each entry is a line that indicated a library location, the call number and availability. This information is as large as the title, and is in fact more prominent in the listing because it is a different color than the other info. It is not the only location where the item may be available- why is this location displayed in the search results?I would like to see the book title and author as the most prominent information on the search results page. Can the other info be brought down a couple of point sizes? It will be easier to scan the page to find the title you are looking for- as it is, it is difficult to read.
Dear Librarians,After placing a hold using the new system, I notice the message "1 hold on first copy returned of 5 copies". I see that 4 of the 5 library-owned copies are not checked out and are marked as "available". Does this mean my hold has been placed on the 1 copy that is checked out and I must wait until that copy is returned for it to be sent to my specified branch library? I have already placed holds on two items; several available copies of each are owned by the library. One or two copies are checked out. However, after 5 days I notice that no action has been taken, nothing has transitioned to "sent" or "in transit". My place is still "1 of 1 holds" in the hold queue. Will the new system create longer wait times for materials on hold? Is this just a glitch due to the recent installation of the new system? While library patrons are allowed to place holds on specific volumes/parts of a DVD series, requesting a particular copy of a book is not an option. Will this option be made available in the future? Thank you for your time and assistance!
I created a PIN online and it said to make it a combo of numbers and letters, which I did. So when I went to pick up some holds from one of the branches this afternoon, I had to reset my PIN because the only PINs that can be used at the self-check machines are ones composed of only numbers.I feel that this new system is a lot more convoluted than the old one. Even if the old one were outdated per se, it was a lot easier to use than this new one. I really hope these kinks get straightened out very very soon.
I am not getting emails anymore that let me know when my hold is available. Any thoughts on this?
Anonymous on Feb. 27, in regards to hold emails -Call your branch or Central circulation and ask to speak to someone about your account – staff can check your email address, or whatever else may be the problem.
Anonymous on Feb. 24, in regards to the new status-display when holds are placed -We apologize for the confusing language – when you are first in line for a hold, your hold still gets filled with the very first copy we get our hands on, one way or another.When we gather items from around the Library to fill hold requests, we "return" them in order to trigger the hold notification and status change. So if there are copies of the book on the shelf – but someone returns a copy before we've gathered today's requests – then that returned copy will be "first returned." If no copies are returned before we pull the requests, a copy gathered from the stacks becomes "first returned." Because of the catalog and system transition we were delayed in pulling holds, but we should be back on track now. Occasionally a hold will take longer to process than we expect (i.e. if the available copy is not readily found on the shelf). However, if you find that you have multiple holds that still aren't moving at all, please contact the circulation desk directly.
Anonymous on Feb. 25, in regards to creating a PIN -When the system first went live, there was an hour in which it mistakenly allowed PINS to be set with letters. Unfortunately, some some people were caught in that malfunction, and we're sorry to hear that you were one of them. But we're glad that you were able to reset your PIN and can now use your account.
Is there any way to prevent my full name, address and phone number from appearing on every My Account page? Someone could be reading over my shoulder, and people forget to log out. I just walked up to a library computer, on which someone had been checking their account and did not log out, and there was all the personal information, on full display. Are there privacy settings that can be changed to prevent this?
I have mixed feelings about the new catalog but I'll get accustomed over time. But my immediate problem is that, having logged into the new system for the first time, I cannot figure out where to find the info that used to be under "patron summary" — i.e., what books I have checked out, when they're due, etc. What am I doing wrong? Help!
I agree with the poster regarding the confusing search results. Here is the info from a search my daughter did. The book it not only available at Aurora Hills- why does it say Aurora Hills Teen Fiction?The clique : a novel / by Lisi HarrisonHarrison, Lisi.Aurora Hills Teen Fiction Y F HARRI AVAILABLE Show all 7 available copies/volumesShow all
Trying to renew some books on my account I get this message: "Your record is in use by system. Please try again later."Huh? I always log out after using my account, so how is it in use? Does this mean the system's down?