Frustration! by basykes, on Flickr

Why does the library have only one copy of (insert super-popular book title here)?!?

This is a very common question/complaint we get from you, our library users.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. You hear about a new book, say Game Change, by John Heilemann. You search the library’s catalog, and see that apparently we only have only one (1!) copy of the book, when there are fifty-two (52!) holds on it. ARGH!

But don’t fear, library users.  We are more on top of things than our online system shows. Though the public view of the system only shows one copy of that book, we actually have ten additional copies on order.

We run regular reports to find out which titles need additional copies ordered to maintain our holds-to-copies ratio for books. We order additional copies as needed, and when these books arrive, they are prioritized for getting processed and added to the system, filling all those hold requests (in order).

Unfortunately, our online system does not display the additional copies on order, so it can look quite discouraging if you’re number 52 in the holds queue for Game Change.

I hope this helps explain a little bit about what we do here and reassures all of you readers on hold for those books with huge hold queues.

If you ever want to give us feedback about something here at the library, just contact us.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

You can also request that we request an item we don’t have from another library for you (interlibrary loan).

You can do this from our homepage by clicking on Request Materials, which is the 3rd item under Library Links in the menu along the left of the page.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

From our homepage (thebestlibrary.net):

1. Click on My Account in the red bar near the top of the page.

2. Enter your library card number and PIN. Your library card number is on the back of your library card, and it starts with 26928. The PIN is usually the last four digits of your library card number.

3. Click on Current Loans at the left of the screen. You’ll also see options to look at the books you have on hold, see what your fines are, etc.

4. Check off the items you want to renew. Click on Renew, at the top of the list of the items you have out.

5. If the computer doesn’t let you renew an item, it’s probably because someone else has it on hold. You can call our friendly circulation staff for help at 541-766-6926.

Are there other things you want to know how to do with your account, or catalog searches you’d like to know how to do? Leave a comment and we’ll do a post about it.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian