The Peninsula Library System
will automatically renew eligible items two days before the due date. The new due dates will be based on
the original due dates. You will receive notification two days in advance of the due date alerting you
which items have been renewed and which items cannot be renewed. Items with holds/reserves or that have
reached the maximum renewal limit will not renew. The library account must be current and have a balance
of fifteen dollars or less.
Other ways
to renew:
- Classic Catalog – renew through either the “Renew Items” link or the “My Library Account” link.
Login to the catalog with your library card number and PIN to access your account. If the center
of the screen does not show the “＃ of Items Checked Out” and the title list,
locate the link to “＃ of Items Checked Out” on the right side of the screen.
The list of items you currently have checked out (“Items Currently Checked Out”)
displays to the bottom of the screen. You may choose to renew everything checked out by clicking
“Renew All” or choose which items to renew by utilizing the check box to the left
of each item to be renewed. Check the box next to any items that you want to renew by clicking
on it, then click the “Renew Marked” button to renew only those items. You
can also take our brief online tutorial on Renewing Your Items.
- BiblioCommons – renew through the My Borrowing menu item. From the Checked Out tab,
select the items you wish to renew and click “Renew”. A new due date will appear
once the process is finished.
- Text – renew through SMS text alerts via Shoutbomb.
Items can be renewed via text message.
- Telephone – renew through telephone prompts can be done by calling (650)
638-0399.
- App – renew through mobile app from either the Apple Store or Google Play. Search
Peninsula Library System and choose your home library app.
If you have any questions, please contact your local library
I'm
having trouble getting email notification of holds and overdue materials.
What do I do?
Please
click here to see the Email Notification FAQs.
How do I
get notices by email?
Log into
“My Library Account” in the Classic Catalog. Click on the "Modify
Personal Information" link. If the box marked "Email" is
empty, simply fill it in with your email address and click on the Submit
button. You will now get your notices by email. If you need to change your
email address, just repeat these steps.
In
BiblioCommons, if you wish to update or change your email address, go to
"My Settings" and find the Email Address setting under Account
Information.
Can I pay
fees online?
Yes!
For more information see the Pay
Online FAQs.
How does
Reading History work?
In the
Classic Catalog, the Reading History will begin recording the titles you
check out from the library once you turn it on. The Reading History will not show titles
that were checked out prior to turning on the Reading History. To turn on Reading History, log into your
account and click on the "Reading History" link on the right side
of the screen. Next click on the blue
"Opt In" link to the left.
In
BiblioCommons, you can enable or disable your borrowing history from the
Account Preferences tab in My Settings.
How do
Preferred Searches work?
In the
Classic Catalog, Preferred Searches (or New Item Alerts) can send you an
email alert when a new item is added to our catalog that meets your
interests. You can set up alerts for
new items by format, location, favorite authors, titles, subjects, etc. To set up a Preferred Search, first log
into your library account. Then, run a
search for the type of item you want to be notified about (e.g. an author
search for “rice, anne”). At the top
of the search results page, click on the “Save search to get new item alerts”
button. Go back into your library
account and click on the button for “Preferred Searches.” Check the box in the “Mark for Email”
column and click “Update List.” You
will now receive email notification every time one of our libraries adds an
item matching your search criteria. There is a limit of 50 on New Item
Alerts.
In
BiblioCommons, the New Item Alerts function is not available.
Searching the Online Catalog
Are there
directions for the Catalog?
The
Classic Catalog comes with an online help file you can look at by clicking on
the “Search Help” button in the upper right-hand corner.
How do I
search the catalog?
When you click on Catalog or Search Catalog, you will see a drop
down menu to choose to search by Keyword (default), Title, Author, or
Subject. Select one and type your search term(s) into the second box.
Optionally, you can use the third box to limit your search to a specific
library or Adult, Teen, or Children’s materials. You can also check the box
below the Search button to limit your search to in-stock items only.
You can use Advanced
Search if you want to use multiple search terms, such as title and author,
or want to limit your search to a specific library, location, type of
material, language, publisher, or year. You can find Advanced Search Help,
along with example searches here.
Can I
alter the order my search results are displayed?
Yes, you
can. From any title list page, you can sort by Relevance, Date or Title. Some results pages also give you additional
sorting options.
Can I
save a list of books? Can I email a list?
You can save a list from your search results by clicking “Add to
Book Bag” next to the items you want to add to your list. Once you have added
items to your Book Bag, you can click the “View Book Bag” button (above the
search options) to see your list. From there, you may save or send your list,
or place holds on the items.
When viewing your Book Bag, click “Save Book Bag” to select
formatting and sending options. If you choose to email your list, enter an
email address into the “Mail To:” box, change the subject if you wish, and
click the Submit button.
In
BiblioCommons, you can add items to a "For Later" Shelf. This allow you to keep track of items you
read, listen to, and watch in the future.
What does
"Limit Search to in-stock items" do?
When you
check on this box and do a search, the catalog will only display items that
are actually in a library and on the shelf or waiting to be shelved. This will not limit the search to your
particular branch unless you also limit to a specific location. Please note
that doing both of these at the same time may limit the results that you will
see.
What does
the "Show Similar" button do?
The 'Show
Similar' button appears on the detail page only after you've done a keyword
search. When you click on the 'Show Similar' button it does another keyword
search to find subjects close to your original search. For example, if you
did a keyword search on Columbus, and on the results page you clicked the
"Where is it?" link for the first item, a book called Christopher
Columbus: To the New World, you would get a detail page that had a 'Show
Similar' button at the top. If you click on that button now, it will do a
search on subjects related to Columbus. The results list that you get will
show books about other explorers, like Captain John Smith or Hernando de
Soto. If you click on the "Where is it?" link for one of these
items and scroll down you'll see the subjects that the 'Show Similar' button
searched on highlighted in red.
Placing & Altering Holds
How will I know my hold is ready to pick up?
The
library will contact you when your hold is ready to be picked up. The best
ways for us to get in touch with you are email and text – and using both is
even better! If you are unsure of your
notification method, contact your local library. For text
notifications, you need to sign up here.
Can I
change my pickup location after I’ve placed a hold on an item?
If you
would like to change the pickup location for an item, you can do so as long
as the hold has not yet been filled. If the hold has already been filled,
call or visit your local
library; staff
will assist you with making this change.
I'm
having trouble getting email notification of holds and overdue materials.
What do I do?
Please
click here to see the Email Notification FAQs.
I placed
a hold on a title in the Online Catalog but when the hold was filled it was
for a different volume than the one I wanted. How can I place a hold on a
specific volume?
When you
encounter a record in the catalog that has items for different volumes,
parts, or years, you can call your local library and ask library
staff to place a “copy-specific” hold for you to ensure that you receive the
item that you want.
How long
will it take for my hold to arrive?
While we
try to get your library materials to you as quickly as possible, holds that
are currently “Check Shelf” status may take several days to ship. Deliveries take place Mondays through
Fridays only, and we will notify you (via email, text, phone or postal mail)
as soon as your items are ready to pick up.
Items currently checked out may take longer to fill holds.
What if I
don't have several days, and I need it now?
If you
need something right away, DON'T PLACE A HOLD! The faster option is to
call the library where the item is available (Check Shelf status) and ask for
a courtesy hold. Staff will pull the item for you, and place it on
their hold shelf in time for your arrival.
Some items in the collection are not available as a courtesy hold.
Holds in
the Classic Catalog
To view
your holds, log into My Library Account and view Requests (holds)
Altering
a hold
• Suspending a hold – When viewing your holds, you can choose the
Freeze option to delay the hold being filled.
When ready to resume your hold, choose the Unfreeze option. Holds can only be frozen if all holdable
copies are currently unavailable.
• Cancelling a hold – If you no longer wish to have a specific item on
hold, you can cancel the request.
• Changing the pickup location – If you would like to change the
pickup location for an item, you can do so as long as the hold has not yet
been filled.
Holds in
Bibliocommons
To view
your holds, log into your account and go to On Hold
Altering a hold
• Suspending a hold – When viewing your holds, you can choose the
Pause option to delay the hold being filled.
When ready to resume your hold, choose the Resume option. Holds can only be paused if all holdable
copies are currently unavailable.
• Cancelling a hold – If you no longer wish to have a specific item on
hold, you can cancel the request.
• Changing the pickup location – If you would like to change the
pickup location for an item, you can do so as long as the hold has not yet
been filled.
Troubleshooting
How do I
see the holdings of a title?
Search
for the item you want by putting a title, keyword, or author name in the
search box and click on ‘Search’. This will get you to a 'Search Results'
page. (for example, if you have searched for an author you'll first get a
list of authors to choose from. When you click on an author name, you'll get
to the 'Search Results' page.) From the 'Search Results' page, simply click
on a title or cover art (if there is cover art) and you'll see the detail
page for that item, including holdings.
If there are more than 10 copies, click on the button 'View additional
copies or search for specific copy/volume' and all copies will display.
Are there
summaries or reviews available like there are on Amazon?
Load your
search and go to the detail page for the item you are interested in. Look for
command buttons on the top right side, next to "Another Search" is
"Reviews & More". Clicking this provides any available
reviews, summaries, and additional content information.
In
BiblioCommons, there are summaries and reviews (if any) within the item
record details.
What do I
do if I'm on vacation when my books on hold become available? I don't want to
lose my place in the holds queue!
You can
freeze your holds so they don't become available while you're away. When you
come back you can unfreeze your holds and still have your same place in the
holds queue. Here's how it works.
While in
the Classic Catalog, click on the 'My Library Account' link. Type in your
library card number and PIN (default is the last four digits of your
telephone number). Click on blue "Requests (Holds)" link on the
right side (if Holds not already showing) and you will see a listing of items
you have on hold.
To freeze
these items, just put a checkmark in the box in the Freeze column at the far
right for each item you want to freeze. When you're done, click on the
"Update list" button on the left just above or below your list of
holds. You'll see that icicles appear on your hold so you can see clearly
that it's frozen.
To unfreeze your items when you return, just
log into your account and click on the "Requests (Holds)" link.
Then remove the checkmark from the Freeze checkboxes and click on the
"Update Selected" button. Your holds will be unfrozen and active.
Note:
This may only work for those titles with all copies checked out and a long
hold list.
When I
look at the Chinese site I see boxes instead of characters. What should I do?
To make CJK characters display, you need to
do two things.
I. Change
settings in Internet Explorer:
1. Click Tools (on the toolbar), then select Internet Options.
2. Select the Fonts button (which is at the bottom of the General
tab)
3. For Language Script, choose Latin based.
4. For Web Page Font, choose Arial Unicode MS.
5. Click OK to close the Fonts window.
6. Click OK to close the Internet Options window.
II.
Install the universal font for Unicode in Word/Microsoft Office:
In Control Panel, double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
Do one of
the following:
If you installed your Microsoft Office program as part of an Office
package, click Microsoft Office in the Currently installed programs box, and
then click Change.
If you installed your Office program individually, click the name of
your program in the Currently installed programs box, and then click Change.
In the Microsoft Office Setup dialog box, click Add or Remove
Features, and then click Next.
Next to Office Shared Features, click the plus sign (+).
Next to International Support, click the plus sign (+).
Click the icon next to Universal Font, and then select the
installation option you want.
You may need the MS Office CD to complete the installation.
eBooks Frequently Asked Questions
What are
eBooks?
eBooks are electronic versions of printed books that can be read on
a computer or other electronic device with the appropriate software and
capabilities.
What are
audio eBooks?
Audio eBooks (also known as MP3 audio books, or simply audio books)
are recordings of books read aloud. You can listen to them on any device that
can play MP3 files.
Is it
free?
Yes, it's
free to Peninsula Library System card holders. To apply for a card online
fill out the form at http://plsinfo.org/get-a-library-card/.
Are
eBooks the same as the print versions?
In general, yes. They have the same content, illustrations, and
photos. The page numbers might not
match, due to screen size and text size differences.
How do I
search for eBooks?
eBooks come up in your search results just like all other materials.
If you want to search specifically for eBooks in the Classic Catalog, use the Advanced Search
tab at http://catalog.plsinfo.org/search/X, enter
your search terms in the top box and in the Material Type menu, select
“E-Books” and with any other limits you’d like to place on your search, then
click Submit.
See specific FAQs for:
Overdrive
How long
can I have an eBook "checked out"?
The
lending period is typically 1-3 weeks, depending on your account settings in
OverDrive, which you control.
How do
you "return" an eBook?
eBooks
and audio books are automatically returned when their loan periods end.
Will I
ever have to place a hold on an eBook?
Yes.
There are limited quantities of eBook or audio copies that can be used at any
one time. If you place a hold in
Overdrive, you will be notified via email when it is available. You can choose to automatically check out
the item once your hold is available.
How do I
know which eBooks I can borrow?
All 9
library jurisdictions in the Peninsula Library System consortium share a
number of eBook resources including the popular Peninsula Digital Library
eBook collection (http://pls.lib.overdrive.com) and the Safari
Tech Books (http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/). These titles
are available to anyone who has a card from any library in the Peninsula
Library System. When using the online catalog, any eBook title that is
available to all will say; “Connect to this resource online.”
In
addition to this shared collection, there are eBooks in the library catalog
that are only available to cardholders from the library that purchased the
eBook. Publishers and Digital Rights Management prevent the loan of these
titles outside the specific library’s boundaries. When using the online
catalog these titles will say, for example; “San Mateo County Library
Cardholders (card begins with 29041) Click Here to download this eBook.”
What
Library do I belong to?
If your
card begins 29041
San Mateo
County Library Branches: Atherton
Library, Belmont Library, Brisbane Library, East Palo Alto Library, Foster
City Library, Half Moon Bay Library, Millbrae Library, Pacifica Library,
Portola Valley Library, San Carlos Library, Sanchez Library, Woodside Library
If your
card begins 29042
Burlingame
Library Branches: Burlingame Library,
Easton Library
If your
card begins 29043
Daly City
Library Branches: Serramonte Library,
Bayshore Library, John Daly Library, Westlake Library
If your
card begins 29044
Menlo
Park Library Branches: Menlo Park Library, Belle
Haven Library
If your
card begins 29045
Redwood
City Library Branches: Redwood City
Library, Fair Oaks Library, Schaberg Library, Redwood Shores Library
If your
card begins 29046
San Bruno
Library Branches: San Bruno Library
If your
card begins 29047
San Mateo
City Library Branches: San Mateo City Library,
Hillsdale Library, Marina Library
If your
card begins 29048
South San
Francisco Library Branches: South San
Francisco Library, Grand Avenue Library
San Mateo
Community College District
If your
card begins 29366 Canada
College Library
If your
card begins 29367 College
of San Mateo Library
If your
card begins 29368 Skyline
College Library
Pay Online
How do I
pay my fines online?
In
the Classic Catalog, click “Pay Fees” in the yellow menu bar. Log in to
your account using your library bar code number and your PIN number. In
the white box on the left, click on the "unpaid fines and bills" link,
and then click on the "Pay Online" button. You will be directed to
Peninsula Library System Secure Payment Form to enter your credit card
information.
In BiblioCommons, go to the Fees tab and select
fees to pay. Once you click Pay Selected, you will be directed to
Peninsula Library System Secure Payment Form to enter your credit card
information.
Is there
a minimum amount for payment?
No, any
amount can be paid online.
What can
or cannot be paid online?
Fines and
fees visible in your “My Library Account” may be paid online. Any other charges, including for printing,
may be paid at your local library.
What will
show up on my credit card statement?
You will
see <Your Local Library> – Library Payment. (Your Local Library being
San Mateo Public or Brisbane or Redwood City, or the PLS library you've
chosen as your home library.)
What
forms of payment are accepted online? What about PayPal?
Visa and
MasterCard credit cards are the only forms of payment we can accept at this
time.
I'm
getting this error message: "There is a problem with your patron record-
payment not made-please see Librarian for assistance."
There are
many reasons why you might see this message. Please contact your local
library for
assistance. As long as this error message displays your payment cannot be
processed, and no fines or fees will be cleared from your record.
When I
connect to the "View Your Patron Record" link I am automatically
directed to a new site, it this correct?
Yes, this
is correct. Peninsula Library System is working with a secure payment vendor to ensure the
security of your online payments and is where the payment will be processed.
What if I
need to dispute my fines or fees?
Since
policies vary at PLS libraries, contact your local library first. They can
explain the fines and fees that appear in your account. If you have a
question about a payment do the following:
1) Check
to see if the fee/fine still shows in your account. If it still shows there,
your payment didn't go through.
2) Check
in your credit card statement to see if the payment appears.
3) Check
your confirmation email.
Please
have a copy of your statement and confirmation email when you contact your
local library. If you find a charge on your credit card that needs to be
disputed, your credit card company will help you with the proper forms.
Can I get
a refund?
Before
paying online, review your charge(s) carefully. Once paid, charges are
non-refundable. If you have any questions, please contact your local
library.