Place and Manage Hold Requests
A hold request tells us that you would like to borrow a particular library item. A full-service library card is required to borrow physical items (not an “online-only” card).
How to place a request
- Search for the item in the library catalog.
- Click Place Hold Request.
- Log in to your library account.
- Select Pickup Library and Activation Date.
- Click Submit Request.
If the item is currently checked out to someone else, you will be placed on a waiting list to receive the item when it is returned.
If the item is checked in, please allow time for staff and volunteers to retrieve the item from the shelf and set it aside for you; depending on schedules, this may take several days.
How do I pick up a held item?
- Wait to receive a notice from the library. You can choose to be notified by email, text message, phone, or postal mail. Follow the instructions in your notice. Bring your library card and/or the library cards of anyone you are picking up items for.
- Downtown only: wait 3 days after the notice before visiting to pick up your item. (The notice will remind you to wait 3 days.)
- Vulnerable individuals may choose to make an appointment for curbside pick up at the Downtown Library or Bethel Branch. Wait to receive the notice that your item is ready, then follow its instructions.
How long are items held?
- Items are held for 8 days.
- If you no longer want an item, please cancel the request or call to let us know so that others can borrow it.
- Check your account regularly and cancel unwanted requests before they are held for you.
- If you’re going to be away or too busy, suspend unfilled requests.
How do I suspend a request?
If you won’t be able to pick up items for a period of time, suspend your requests and select a reactivation date. Your name keeps advancing in line, but the library will not pull the item aside for you until you reactivate the request. If your name rises to the top of the list while your request is suspended, you will remain at the top (letting others move ahead of you) until your reactivation date.
- Log in to your library account.
- Click the Hold Requests tab.
- Click in the box next to items you want to suspend. (Tip: to check all, click the box in the top row.)
- Click Suspend/Reactivate Selected at the bottom of the screen.
- Enter the date you want the requests to be automatically reactivated.
- Click Submit.
How do I cancel a request?
If the item is not yet Held, you can cancel the request in your online account. If an item is already Held but you no longer want it, please call to let us know.
To cancel requests not yet marked Held:
- Log in to your library account.
- Click the Hold Requests tab.
- Click in the box next to each item you want to cancel.
- Click Cancel Selected at the bottom of the screen.
Why do I get a message saying that I cannot place a request?
- The item is no longer available.
- It’s time to renew your library card. For more information, see Get or Renew a Library Card.
- You have a long overdue item.
- You owe $100 or more on your library account.
Why was my hold canceled?
- You did not pick up a held item in time.
- The item is lost, missing or damaged and cannot be replaced.