Thursday, September 11, 2014

Our New Catalog




We are excited to introduce our new online catalog! This new system will give us more opportunities to connect with you, our patrons, and for you to be able to search more of our print and digital collections. Here's what you can expect now and in the upcoming weeks:
  • An easy way to view all of our new materials
  • The ability to search our eBook collections and download them directly
  • An option to start saving your checkout history up to two years back
  • Text yourself a call number

You will still have access to see your checked out items, renew items, and see what you have on hold. You can log in using your same password and your full library card number instead of a username.

Searching
There are two drop-down menus for searching: one for what you want to search and another for what you want to search by. For the first choose either Lake Forest Library (default) or All Member Libraries for many area libraries. Look for eBook & eAudiobooks soon! You can also search by keyword, author, title, ISBN, etc. with the next drop-down menu.


Search Results
When you get your search results, you'll see some valuable pieces of information right up front. You will see the title, author, format and availability. Our library will always appear first in bold. To find the item just look next to Lake Forest Library under the Call Number column. If the item is not checked in (Main Level, Upper Level, etc.) you can log in and use the Place Hold button to hold the item for you. If you would like to see if it is in another library, click the View more copies... button below our holdings.



Our New Materials
On the main page you will see a sliding image with our new items. The drop down list will let you choose what type of new items you would like to see and also includes items from the NY Times best sellers list. Alternatively, a full list can be found below under New Items.

Save Your Checkout History
To start saving your checkout history first log in using your library card number and password (default: patron). Next click on My Account at the top. Under the Personal Information tab choose Preferences and check both boxes at the bottom (Show and Record My Checkout History). Now, anything you checkout will appear in the Checkout History category of the Checkouts tab.


Text a Call Number
Want to send the location of a book in our library or another library to your phone? Just click on the Text This To Me button next to the item.
 Put in your phone number and carrier and a text will be sent with the item name, author, and call number!


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Personally, I find this format much less organized or cohesive than the last catalog. The new texting and eBook features are great, but I am having trouble navigating the system. I find it messy.

Lake Forest Library said...

Thanks for your comment. The new system is a different way of navigating our collection so we expect it will take a bit of time to become familiar with.

I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have about the new catalog, just email me at mneer at lfl.alibrary.com

-Matt!