Help

Once you've found the book (or other item) you need in the online catalog, you can place a request for it, so that as soon as it's available for checkout, we'll hold it for you and let you know it's ready to be picked up. We'll even hold it for you at the library location of your choice, whether it's an Lone Star College System college library or a Montgomery County Public Library branch.

So how do you place that request?

• First, locate the book in the online catalog.
• Once you have located it, look for the long button that reads "Request FIRST AVAILABLE COPY of this item"
• Click that button and enter your library card barcode number and PIN
• On the next screen, choose the location where you want to pick up the item and any comments for the librarian
• Click "Request".

You will be notified when the item is ready to pick up at the location you specified.

You may have selected a title for which all copies are designated for use inside the library only. You can check the detailed information for that title by clicking the title from the search results screen. Look under "Copy/Holding Information" on the detail screen for that title and see if the "Collection" indicates "Reference" or some other restriction.

If you're still not sure, feel free to contact a librarian for further assistance.

You can use the "My Account" feature of the online catalog to check the status of your hold requests.

Start by clicking this "My Account" link or (when you're using the online catalog) the "My Account" tab at the top of the catalog page. Then, log in using the 14-digit Borrower Card Number located under the barcode on your library card, and your PIN. Unless you have changed your PIN, it should be the last four digits of the phone number we have on file for you.

Once you've logged in, click on the link "Hold Requests" (or Holds at the top of the page). You will see two lists of items you have requested online: one list of items that are ready for you to pick up, and another list of items that you have requested but that aren't ready for you yet.

In the list of items that are not ready for pickup, you can review to make sure your request is active, that the pickup location is correct, and find out your position in the queue for that item. If "Position" shows 1, for example, you are first in line for the item and will be next to get it when it becomes available; if "Position" shows 5, there are four other people waiting for the item ahead of you.

If you wish to cancel a request, you can do so from this same screen; simply check the box beside the title(s) for which you want to cancel the request, and click "Cancel Request".