Library Automation System - Resources

Using the online catalog's "My Account" feature

My Account | Renew Items | Holds | Account Preferences | My Lists

My Account

There are a couple ways to login to My Account. From the main SCPL website, www.santacruzpl.org, select the orange My Account button in the upper right corner of the page.

 

If you are already in the library catalog, select the orange My Account link in the top right corner of the page.

 

Once you are at the My Account Log In page, enter your Card Number or User Name, and password in the appropriate fields.

 

Once you have logged in you may review your account information, place holds, renew items, create lists, and much more.

 

Renew Items

Once you are logged in to your account, you can see the items you have checked out from the Account Summary tab using the "View All" link for "Items currently checked out" or by clicking the Items Checked Out tab.

 

To renew items, check the box to the left of the item(s) you’d like to renew, select Renew Selected Items from the dropdown, and click the "Go" button.

 

You will be asked to confirm your renewals. Click OK. You should now see a confirmation message that your renewal was successful. Notice that the number of possible renewals has changed.

 

Items can be renewed four times for 21 days each time unless there is a request on the item or it is a non-renewable item. Non-renewable items include special interest holiday materials, interlibrary loan items, and Read to Me and Book Discussion Kits.

Items checked out on Homebound cards are allowed 2 renewals (28 days).

 

Holds

View Holds

Step 1. Log in to My Account with your library card number/username and PIN.

Step 2. Click on the Holds tab to view your holds list.

 

Here you can see what is on hold, whether the hold is active, and the status. The status column tells you what your number is in the hold queue. The "Hold number" is your position in the queue. The number of circulating copies is how many total copies the library has. So in the example above, the library has four total copies of the Hunger Games audio book. This user is third in line. If someone were to turn in a copy, they would become second in line. Keep an eye on this number to see your place in the hold queue.

Actions for Selected Holds

Items on hold can be canceled or suspended while you are logged in to My Account. Note that any selections you make will only apply to holds where you have clicked the checkbox to the left of the title.

 

Actions you may select from the drop down menu are:

Suspend – This action will prevent the hold from being filled, while other holds will continue to fill until the person with the suspended hold reaches as high as second in line.

Activate – This action will activate any holds you have previously suspended, allowing your hold to move up the hold line again and be filled.

Cancel – This action will cancel your hold.

In addition, there is an edit button to the right of each hold, which allows you to edit the status of your hold. Clicking the edit link takes you to the following screen:

 

From here you may change the pickup library, set an expiration date on the hold, change the hold status, and set a date for suspended holds to return to active status.

From the Holds History tab, you can see the status of your hold. It tells you how many copies of the item exist, and what hold you are in the queue. In this example, there are 4 total circulating copies of the audio book for The Hunger Games. This user is number 6 on the list.

 

 

Account Preferences

In Account Preferences, you can change information about your account.

On the Personal Information tab, you'll see your contact information, and links to change your password and email address.

 

On the Notification Preferences tab, you'll be able to change whether the library sends you email notifications.

 

On the Search Preferences page, you'll be able to change the number of search hits per page, your preferred search and pickup locations, the option to keep a history of your checkouts and holds, and whether you want to see a warning when you add an item to a temporary holds list.

 

My Lists

The My Lists section (formerly called My Bookbags) allows you to create, edit, share, and remove lists of library materials. These lists can be used for a number of purposes -- perhaps to keep track of what books you have read or books you would like to read.

Create a New List

Step 1. Log in to My Account with your library card number/username and PIN, and click on the My Lists tab.

Step 2. Enter the name of a new List in the space provided. You can also add a description and select whether you want the list to be shared or not.

 

Sharing Your List

When you choose to share your List, the URL for your list will be provided for you to share it with anyone you like. You can choose to share a List when it is created, or share it later using the following steps:

Step 1: Click the “Share" button next to the List name.

 

On a List that is already shared, you will see a "Hide" button in place of the "Share" button. Use this to cancel sharing if you change your mind.

 

Step 2: To the right of your shared List, you will now see a button for an RSS feed and a link for an HTML view of your List. Click the HTML link to see your list. You can copy and paste the web address from this page to share your List with friends.

The HTML link to your List opens in the catalog view. You can search your list from the search bar. If you want to go back to searching the catalog, don't forget to uncheck the box next to "Search only within the chosen list".

 

Add Items to your List

As you search the catalog, you can add any items you'd like to a List. From the search view, you can see the "Add to my list" link.

 

This link is also available in the item view.

 

If you are logged in when you click on the "Add to my List" link, you can choose to add the item to any of the lists you've already created. If you are not logged in, the item will be added to a temporary list.

 

Temporary lists will remain until you close your browsing session -- then they will disappear! If you want to keep these items, you'll need to log in and then add them to one of your existing lists, or else create a new List for these items.

When you have created a temporary list, you can find the contents by clicking on the "View My List" button which appears next to the search sort dropdown.

 

Clicking the "View My List" button will take you to a list view of the items you've selected. If you are logged in to your account, it will take you directly to the "My Lists" tab.

 

From here, you can choose to add the Temporary List items to any of your existing Lists by clicking on the Actions dropdown. Don't forget that you need to select the title you want to move by clicking the checkbox to the left of the item title.

 

To add an item to a new list, you must first create the new List, and then follow the steps above.

Remove Items from your List

To remove an item from a list, open the list view so that you are looking at all the items. Click the checkbox next to the title you wish to remove. Then look at the dropdown menu on the upper right. It says "place hold" by default, but if you click it you'll be able to select "remove from list".

 

Once you've selected "remove" you have to click the "Go" button before the item will be removed. You can re-open the list after to verify that the item no longer appears in your list.

 

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