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Tutorials
About the Online Catalog | Your
Library Account | Searching | Placing & Altering
Holds | Troubleshooting |
eBooks | Pay Online
More About the NEW Online Catalog
Tutorials:
Demos: On-line demos that show you how
to download digital titles one step at a time.
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About the Online Catalog
Your Library Account
Searching
Placing and Altering Holds
Troubleshooting
eBooks
Pay
Online
About the Online Catalog
What is the Online Catalog?
Your key to the riches of the Peninsula Library System is the Online Catalog.
With the Online Catalog you can see the books, videos, CD's, and other holdings
of all 34 public and community college libraries in San Mateo County. You can
use the Online Catalog to check your library account for materials you have taken
out, placed holds on, or any fees you may owe. the Online Catalog
also links you to information on community services, and to a large variety of
research databases. We are happy to make this library service available to all
residents of San Mateo County..
What is the Internet address for the Online Catalog? I
want to bookmark it.
Set your browser to http://catalog.plsinfo.org.
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Your Library Account
How can I check my library account?
Enter the Online Catalog at http://catalog.plsinfo.org.
After the catalog loads (this may take a few moments), click the “Your
Library Account” link toward the top of the screen. You will be asked for
your 14-digit library card number and PIN. Please note that the first time you
go to login to “My Library Account” you will be prompted to enter
a PIN number for yourself. The Peninsula Library System recommends using the
last four digits of the telephone number you gave us when you applied for your
library card. When you are finished checking your account, please remember to
log out so that others will not be able to access it.
What is my PIN?
Your PIN (Personal Identification Number) helps to protect your library account
from being used by others. Much like a bank ATM, the Online Catalog works best
when you use a short PIN consisting of a few numbers – we suggest using
the last four digits of the telephone number you gave us when you applied for
a library card. If when you try to login you cannot see your library account,
your address and/or telephone number may be out of date in our records. Please
visit one of our libraries to have this information updated.
How do I change my
PIN number and/or my email address online?
Yes, you can change your PIN (Personal Identification Number) on the Online
Catalog , and your email address too. Here’s how you do it. Go
to http://catalog.plsinfo.org and click
on the 'My Library Account' link in the yellow bar. Log in using your library
account number and your current PIN. Then click on the words “Modify Your
PIN”.
You’ll
be asked to enter your old PIN, followed by the new PIN you want to use. After
entering the new PIN and vrifying it, click “Submit”.
When logged into “My Library Account” you can also add or change
your email address. Click on the “Modify Personal Information “ link,
enter your email address, and click the “Submit” button. After you
add your email address here, you will begin to get your notices by email.
How do I renew items? Can I renew items I have already
checked out?
You certainly can. While in the Online
Catalog click on the My Library Account link. Type in your library card
number and PIN to access your account. Click on the link that shows the items
you currently have checked out (“Items Currently Checked Out”). Next
to each item in the list will be a check box. Check the box next to any items
that you want to renew bu clicking on it, then click the “Renew Selected
Items” button
to renew only those items. You
can also take our brief online tutorial on Renewing
Your Items.
Please note: Some materials cannot be renewed! Usually these are audio tapes,
videos, new materials, items on hold for someone else, or items that have already
been renewed.
I'm having trouble getting email notification of holds
and overdue materials. What do I do?
Please click here to see the Email
Notification FAQs.
How do I get notices by email?
Log into “My
Library Account” in the Online Catalog. Click on the "Modify Personal
Information" link. If the box marked "Email" is empty, simply fill it in with
your email address and click on the Submit button. You will now get your notices
by email. If you need to change your email address, just repeat these steps.
Can I pay fees online?
Yes! Go to http://catalog.plsinfo.org/ and click on "My
Library Account". Log in to your account using your library bar code number
and your PIN number. In the white box on the left, click on the "unpaid
fines and bills" link, and then click on the "Pay Online" button.
You'll be prompted from here on. For more information see the Pay
Online FAQs.
How does My Reading History work?
Once you turn it on, My Reading History records the titles you have checked out
from the library. To turn on My Reading History, log into your account
and click on the blue "My Reading History" link. Next click on the
blue "Opt In" link to the left. For more information, see our My
Reading History page.
How do New Item Alerts
work?
New Item Alerts send you an email alert when a new item is added to our catalog
that meets your interests. You can set up alerts for new items by format,
location, favorite authors, titles, subjects, etc. To set up a New Item
Alert, first log into your library account. Then, run a search for the
type of item you want to be notified about (e.g. an author search for “rice,
anne”). At the top of the search results page, click on the “Save search
to get new item alerts” button. Go back into your library account and click
on the button for “New Item Alerts.” Check the box in the “Mark for Email”
column and click “Update List.” You will now receive email notification
every time one of our libraries adds an item matching your search criteria.
There is a limit of 50 on New Item Alerts.
How do reserve fees work?
If you place a hold, the $0.75 hold fee will appear on your record at the time
you place the hold. If you are canceling a hold, please contact
your library to see if the fee can be waived. For more on placing
holds, take our brief online tutorial on Placing
a Hold.
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Searching the Online Catalog
Are there directions for the Online Catalog?
The Online Catalog comes with an online help
file you can look at by clicking on the “Search Help” button
in the upper right-hand corner.
How do I search the catalog?
After the catalog loads, you will see a drop down menu to choose keyword (the
default), author, title or subject choices. Type your term(s) into the second
box. Optionally, you can use the third box to limit to only Adult, Teen, or Children’s
materials. That's it. You are now searching the catalog
But wait! There's more! On the Advanced
Search page you can limit by type of materials, such as books on tape or
large print. Or you can limit by location, for example, your community library.
Can I alter the order my search results are displayed?
Yes, you can. From the Advanced
Search page you can sort by Title, Date or Relevance. Some results pages
also give you additional sorting options.
Can I save a list of books? Can I email a list?
Yes, you can. This is done by creating a list and then emailing it to
yourself so you can save it on your own computer. Here's how it works:
Do an Any Word search. On the search results page you get click on the book
bag for items you want. A gray “View Book Bag ” button will appear
under the yellow bar. Click on the “View Book Bag ” button. To email
your list to yourself, click on the "Export Saved" button. To place
holds on everything on your list click on the "Hold Item(s) " button
and carry on.
If you do Subject, Title or Author searches you can check off the items you
want and then click on the “Save Marked Records” button. Then “View
Book Bag ” and continue as above.
What is Search Multiple Resources?
Search Multiple Resources allows you to search several different library
resources at once, including research databases and the catalogs of neighboring
libraries.
What does "Limit Search to
Available Items" do?
When you check on this box and do a search, the catalog will only display
items that are actually in the library and on the shelf or waiting to be shelved. This
will not limit the search to your particular branch unless you also limit to
a specific location. Please note that doing both of these at the same time may
limit the results that you will see.
What does the
"Similar Results" button do?
The Similar Results button appears on the detail page only after you've
done a keyword search. When you click on the Similar Results button
it does another keyword search to find subjects close to your original search.
For example, if you did a keyword search on Columbus, and on the results page
you clicked the "Where is it?" link for the first item, a book called Christopher
Columbus: To the New World, you would get a detail page that had a Similar
Results button at the top. If you click on that button now, it will do a search
on subjects related to Columbus. The results list that you get will show books
about other explorers, like Captain John Smith or Hernando de Soto. If you click
on the "Where is it?" link for one of these items and scroll down you'll see
the subjects that the Similar Results button searched on highlighted in red.
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Placing & Altering
Holds
How will I know my hold is ready to pick
up?
You will receive a telephone call from our automated telephone system when your
item is ready to be picked up at the library you chose when you placed the
hold. Instead of a telephone message, some people prefer the convenience of an
email message when their holds are ready. If you would prefer to receive
email messages for holds or fines, just fill out our online
form.
I've already placed a hold on an item, but now I want
to change where I pick it up.
This is not possible in the Online Catalog. To change a pick-up location, visit
or call your local library (you can find the address and number here: http://www.plsinfo.org/library/library.asp.)
The librarian will be happy to help you.
I'm having trouble getting email notification of holds
and overdue materials. What do I do?
Please click here to see the Email
Notification FAQs.
I placed a hold on a title
in the Online Catalog but when the hold was filled it was for a different volume
than the one I wanted. How can I place a hold on a specific volume?
When you encounter a record in the catalog that has items for different
volumes, parts, or years, you need to call your local
library and ask a librarian to place a “copy-specific” hold for
you to insure that you receive the item that you want.
What is the price
for placing a hold?
There is a fee of .75 cents for every hold. This fee
is placed on your library account when you place the hold.
Why am I asked to
log in twice?
When
you place a hold before logging in, the system asks for your bar code and PIN
to authenticate that you are a library patron. This authentication does not log
you in. If you click on "My Library Account" after this type of authentication,
you'll be asked for your bar code and PIN again in order to log in. To avoid
this problem simply log in before you begin searching and placing holds.
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Troubleshooting
How do I see the holdings of a title?
Search for the item you want by putting a title, keyword, or author name in the
search box and click on ‘Search’. This will get you to a 'Search
Results' page. (for example, if you have searched for an author you'll first
get a list of authors to choose from. When you click on an author name, you'll
get to the 'Search Results' page.) From the 'Search Results' page, simply click
on a title or cover art (if there is cover art) and you'll see the detail page
for that item. Holdings information will appear underneath 'Copy/Holding Information'.
Are there summaries or reviews available
like there are on Amazon?
Load your search and go to the detail page for the item you are interested in.
Look at the righthand column just opposite the title. If Summaries or Reviews
are available for your item, you will see the phrase " Reviews & Summaries
at Content Café". Simply click on this link, and the information
will be displayed.
How do I change my email address?
While in the Online Catalog, click on the My Library Account link. Type in
your library card number and PIN (default is the last four digits of your telephone
number.) Once you are in the My Library Account screen, click on the “Modify
Personal Information “ link, enter your new email address, and click the “Submit” button.
How do I renew books online?
While in the Online Catalog, click on the My Library Account link.
Type in your library card number and PIN (default is the last four digits of
your telephone number.) Once you are in the My Library Account screen. Click
on Items Out link you will see a listing of items checked out to you. To renew
these just click on Renew button and the item is now renewed. If you want to
renew more than one item simply put a check in the checkbox to the left of each
item you want to renew, and then click on the Renew button.
Please note: Some materials cannot be renewed! Usually these are audio tapes,
videos, new materials, items on hold for someone else, or items that have been
already renewed
I'll be on vacation when my books come due
and I won't have access to the Internet. Is there some other way I can renew
them?
Yes there is! If you have access to a touch-tone phone you can use Telecirc,
a voice mail interface, to renew items over the phone.
What do I do if I'm on vacation when my books on
hold become available? I don't want to lose my place in the holds queue!
You can freeze your holds so they don't become available while you're away. When
you come back you can unfreeze your holds and still have your same place in the
holds queue. Here's how it works.
While in the Online Catalog, click on the My Library Account link. Type
in your library card number and PIN (default is the last four digits of your
telephone number.) Once you are in the My Library Account screen. Click on
blue "Requests (Holds)" link and you will see a listing of items you have on hold.
To freeze these items, just put a checkmark in the box in the Freeze column at
the far right for each item you want to freeze. When you're done, click on the
"Update Selected" button at the left, just above your list of holds. You'll see
that icicles appear on your hold so you can see clearly that it's frozen.
To unfreeze your items when you return, just log into your account and click
on the "Requests (Holds)" link. Then remove the checkmark from the Freeze checkboxes
and click on the "Update Selected" button. Your holds will be unfrozen and active.
When I look at the Chinese site I see boxes instead
of characters. What should I do?
To make CJK characters display, you need to do two things.
I. Change settings in Internet Explorer:
1. Click Tools (on the toolbar), then select Internet Options.
2. Select the Fonts button (which is at the bottom of the General tab).
3. For Language Script, choose Latin based.
4. For Web Page Font, choose Arial Unicode MS.
5. Click OK to close the Fonts window.
6. Click OK to close the Internet Options window.
II. Install the universal font for Unicode in Word/Microsoft Office:
- In Control Panel, double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
Do one of the following:
- If you installed your Microsoft Office program as part of an Office package,
click Microsoft Office in the Currently installed programs box, and then click
Change.
- If you installed your Office program individually, click the name of your
program in the Currently installed programs box, and then click Change.
- In the Microsoft Office Setup dialog box, click Add or Remove Features,
and then click Next.
Next to Office Shared Features, click the plus sign (+).
Next to International Support, click the plus sign (+).
Click the icon next to Universal Font, and then select the installation option
you want.
You may need the MS Office CD to complete the installation.
eBooks Frequently
Asked Questions
What are eBooks?
eBooks are electronic versions of printed books. eBooks can be viewed online
on any computer connected to the Internet.
Is it free?
Yes, it's free to Peninsula Library System card holders. To apply for a card
online fill out the form at http://www.plsinfo.org/access/library_card.htm.
Are eBooks
the same as the print versions?
Yes, eBooks are exact reproductions of the print versions, including all illustrations.
How do I search
for eBooks?
- Go to http://catalog.plsinfo.org and
click on the Advanced Search tab.
- Enter the term
you want to search for in the first of the search boxes. For example,
to find new fiction audio eBook titles, enter: Fiction
- In the second
of the search boxes, enter: Audio*
- In the Material
Type box, choose E-Books
- Submit your
search
You will get a
list of titles in reverse chronological order (most recent first) of
audio eBooks.
By substituting different
terms in place of "Fiction" or "Audio" you can customize
the search results you will receive. For example, to get a listing
of all the latest eBooks, use an asterisk (*) in the first
search box, and leave the second box empty. (The asterisk will
match all records, so you will see all the eBooks available.)
Pay Online
How
do I pay my fines online?
To pay online, click on the link underneath “My Library Account” labeled “unpaid
fines and bills.”
Is
there a minimum amount for payment?
No.
What
can be paid online?
You can pay any fine or fee that shows when you log in to “My Library Account”.
What
cannot be paid online?
Only fines and fees are currently available for payment online. Any
other charges can be paid at your local
library.
What will show up on my credit card statement?
You will see <Your Local Library> – Library Payment. (Your Local Library
being San Mateo Public or Brisbane or Redwood City, or whatever PLS library
you've chosen as your home library.)
What
forms of payment are accepted online? What about PayPal?
Visa and MasterCard credit cards are the only forms of payment we can accept
at this time.
I'm
getting this
error message: "There is a problem with your patron record- payment not made-
please see Librarian for assistance."
There are many reasons why you might see this message. Please contact
your local library so they can help you. As long as this error message
displays your payment cannot be processed, and no fines or fees will be cleared
from your record.
When
I connect to the "View Your Patron Record" link I am automatically directed
to a new site, it this correct?
Yes, this is correct. Peninsula Library System is working with VeriSign to
ensure the security of your online payments. The new website is the secure
server where your payment will be processed.
What
if I need to dispute my fines or fees?
Since policies vary at PLS libraries, contact
your local library first.
They can explain the fines and fees that appear in your account. If you have
a question about a payment do the following:
- Check to see if the fee/fine still shows in your
account. If it still shows there, your payment didn't go through.
- Check in your credit card statement to see if the payment appears
- Check your confirmation email.
Please have a copy of your statement and confirmation email when you contact
your local library. If you find
a charge on your credit card that needs to be disputed, your credit card
company will help you with the proper forms.
Can I get a refund?
Before paying online, review your charge(s) carefully. Once paid, charges are
non-refundable. If you have have any questions call your local
library. |
