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BiblioCommons Catalog
Great news! The Library has switched over to a new online catalog where you can search our collection, renew, and place holds on items, create lists; track your reading, rate and review titles, and more. Click or tap the button below or read through FAQs to familiarize yourself with the new system.
How-To Videos
Register Your Account
Place Holds
FAQs
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Why do I need to register?
Registration is important for patrons, the Library, and the service provider (BiblioCommons).
For the patron:
- Registration allows you create an easy-to-remember username you can use to log in, so you don't have to type your barcode every time you want to check your account.
- Registration also allows you to get personalized recommendations and contribute ratings and reviews.
For the Library and BiblioCommons:
- It is good practice (and often a legal responsibility) to communicate what information is collected and how that information will be used. By registering, a patron signals that she or he understands these policies and grants permission to store and use personal information as noted.
- Registration also gives the Library and BiblioCommons an opportunity to clearly address some key questions about how the service works, such as the responsibilities of the user, licensing arrangements for user content and, other content on the site, safety issues, and the use of the site by children.
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Why do I have to create a username?
You can log in with your username or your Library card number. That's up to you. The reason we require all users to select a unique username is because the new catalog has additional optional functionality, like commenting on books and keeping track of your reading on shelves. And to support this, we need all users to create a username.
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Why can’t my child enter a username?
In the United States, children under 13 are not allowed to enter free-text on websites without parental approval (per COPPA: the Child Online Privacy Protection Act). Currently, we do not have an option to ensure parental approval, so we came up with the color/animal/number format for usernames, but we hope to provide other options in the future. Once a child turns 13, he or she will be able to select a username and have other free-text options available.
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What happened to my "wish list"? (or "my lists")?
(For libraries that have the import option.)
The titles you saved were not lost. You can import all the items from your wish list onto your For Later shelf. Just go to your For Later shelf, and then click the Import button to import your wish lists from the old catalog. This is a one-time process, and then you can move items to other shelves or lists as needed.
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What happened to renew all?
We hope to have this functionality soon. However, in the meantime, you can select all the items on your first page by clicking Select 1-25 and clicking Renew. If you have more than 25 items checked out, go to the second page of items and repeat the process.
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I can’t figure out where to renew.
There are two ways you can do this.
- Point to the My Library tab, and then click Checked Out.
- Click the My Library tab, and then click Next due or Total Items under Checked Out.
Once you are on your Checked Out page, use the check boxes to select the desired titles and then click Renew.
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I don’t like that my data is being shared with everyone else. I thought the library was supposed to keep our information private?
We absolutely agree with you that the Library must protect the privacy of patrons. The only information that's shared with others is information you choose to share.
If you chose to add titles to your virtual shelves or lists or share ratings and you allow those activities to be public, then other patrons will see your contributions, but you can also make all your personal record keeping completely private. We are in an era of sharing and social media, and if you do want to participate, there are many different options in place for patrons who want to participate but also want to keep certain personal record keeping private:
- You can select an anonymous username
- You can change the privacy settings for your shelves
- You can make select items private as you add titles or comments
- Even if you opt into track what you've borrowed on your Recently Returned page, no one else sees that data, and you can opt out if you wish.
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How is the library going to prevent people from adding inappropriate comments to the catalog? Does the library review all of the comments that are added?
There is a low incidence rate of inappropriate comments being added to the catalog, as all content that users add to the catalog is associated with their Library card. The Library doesn't review any of the comments that are added. Rather, there is a community moderation model in place. If you see something inappropriate, you can click the Report this link. When three separate users report something, the comment is automatically removed and reviewed against the Terms of Use of the catalog.