My GPL library account FAQs

  • Registering and logging In

    The first time you log in, you will be prompted to create an online account.

    1. Go to the Log In page.
    2. Enter your library card barcode and PIN.
    3. Click: Continue to Account Setup
    4. Verify that your information is correct.  Click Continue.
    5. Choose a username. This will be displayed anywhere you enter shared content and can also be used as your login username instead of your barcode. You can always change this later in your account settings.
    6. Accept the Terms and Conditions
    7. Click: Complete Account Setup
    8. You will see a confirmation page with your new username.  You can then continue on to your account.

    An account is required to take advantage of all of the features of the site, including the ability to manage your renewals and holds, contribute ratings and reviews, and follow others to see what they’re enjoying.

    Registration is a one-time process that allows you to create an easy-to-remember username that you can use instead of your barcode to check your account. 

    An email address is optional. It will be used if you forget your PIN/password and request a reset. Your library may also use your email address to send you notifications of items ready for pickup, coming due or overdue.

    Yes, multiple library accounts can use the same email address.

    Your username must be unique, but otherwise you have a great deal of flexibility when you create a username. The name can be up to 50 characters long, and you can use any combination of letters and numbers, as well as underscores ( _ ). It cannot consist entirely of numbers or use spaces or other non-alphanumeric characters.

    The best username is one that is easy for you to remember.

    Yes, if you choose to contribute comments, lists or other content, your username appears beside anything you contribute.

    Also, keep in mind that the name you choose may be indexed with your public contributions in search engines such as Google as they crawl the web.

    Log in with your library card number or barcode. When you’ve logged in successfully, your username appears at the top right of the page.

    There’s a Forgot your PIN? link on the Login page. Click the link, enter your library card number, and then click Send. You’ll get an email with instructions on how to change your PIN. To use this feature, you need to have already registered. If you haven’t already registered, or the library doesn’t have an email address on file for you, contact your library location to reset your PIN.

  • Holds

    1. Log in to your account.
    2. Enter some keywords into the search bar at the top of the screen and press enter, or click the magnifying glass icon, to run your search.
    3. Find the title you want.
    4. Titles with at least one copy in the library show Available. To see the current status of all copies of the item, click the Availability by location link.
    5. Click the Place hold button.
    6. In the Place hold popup, click the drop-down menu to select the branch where you’d like to pick up the title. The default location is your home branch, or the one you specified on your Preferences page as your preferred location. 
    7. Click the Place hold button.
    8. A message will pop up to confirm the item is successfully placed on hold.

    Your requested title will now appear on your On Hold page.

    1. From the My Settings page, go to the Holds and Pickup Location page.
    2. Your current default pickup location is shown. To change it, select a different one from the dropdown list.
    3. To add another branch, click Add Another Location, and then select the branch from the dropdown list. You can select up to three locations as ones you use the most.
    4. Click Save Changes.

    Enabling Single-Click Holds lets you bypass confirming your default pickup location. As the name suggests, your hold will be placed as soon as you click the Place Hold button.

    You can choose whether you would like to receive hold notifications and overdue courtesy notices via email, phone or text. Contact us if you would like to change your current preferences.

    You can manage your holds with three different functions: Pause hold, Cancel hold and For Later.  To access these functions, log into your library account and go to your On Hold list.

    Pause hold

    Pausing your hold will move you forward in the queue, but will not trigger your hold as ready for pickup.

    To pause a single hold
    1. Go to your On Hold list.
    2. Find the title you want to pause.
    3. Click the Pause Hold button next to the item. You will need to select a date to resume the hold to complete the Pause Hold process.
    4. Click Pause hold to confirm.
    5. You’ll see the message: Successfully paused holds.

     You can manually resume the hold by clicking Resume Hold next to the title.

    Cancel hold

    If you no longer want an item you have requested, you can cancel your hold. 

    To cancel a single hold
    1. Go to your On Hold list.
    2. Find the title you want to cancel.
    3. Click the Cancel hold button next to the item.
    4. Click Cancel hold to confirm.
    5. You’ll see the message: Successfully cancelled holds.

    Contact the library if you would like to cancel a hold that is available for pick up. 

    For Later

    Your For Later shelf is like a wish list, a place to keep track of titles you’d like to borrow at some point. Your shelves will be set to private by default, unless you choose to change this in the settings.

    To add a title to your For Later shelf
    1. Go to your On Hold list.
    2. Find the title you want to add to your For Later shelf.
    3. You’ll see the message: Title added to your For Later shelf. This will only be visible to you.

    Adding a title to you For Later shelf does not pause or cancel the hold. 

  • Lists

    A list is a collection of titles related to a specific topic or idea of your choosing. Anyone with a library card can create a list when they’re logged into their account.

    Create a list
    1. Log in to your account.
    2. Open the My Account menu and click Lists
    3. Click the Create a New List button.
    4. Select the type of list you'd like to create.
    5. Create a title and description to your list.
    6. Once you’ve created the list, click the Add Titles button to add titles to it.
    7. To publish your list, click the Finished Editing button and choose your preferred privacy setting. 

    Up to 100. However, to be truly effective, a list of no more than a dozen is probably a good idea, unless the list is just for your own use.

    Yes! A list can contain any combination of titles and formats. You can also add websites to a list.

    A list needs to have four titles before you can publish it. This is to encourage thoughtful and useful lists. The system will always save a draft of your list before it is published, even if the list contains fewer than four items.

    Yes! Part of the fun of creating lists is to share your expertise with others. When you create a list, you can choose who gets to see your list. By default, lists are visible to everyone. You can change that when you publish your list.

    Any time you see a comment on a title, you’ll see the name of the user who wrote the comment. Click their name to see titles on their shelves. When you’re viewing their shelves, you can see also see their lists by clicking the link near the top of the page.

    New lists are also shown on the bottom of the Recent Activity page. You can also search for lists on a particular subject.

    Shelves

    Shelves are a place to gather together all of the titles that you have read, watched or listened to (Completed), are currently borrowing (In Progress) or would like to borrow in the future (For Later). You can add as many items as you want, you can make all or some of them private, and you can filter a shelf using the categories in the left sidebar.

    Lists

    Lists are for more focused collection of items on a particular topic (for example, Cold cases and frosty thrills). Lists can also include links to Web pages. You can create as many lists as you want, but you are limited to adding 100 items per list. You can make the list public (viewable by others) or keep it private.

  • Shelves

    You have three “shelves” to keep track of items you borrow: 

    • The Completed shelf is where you can store everything you’ve read, watched or listened to.
    • In Progress is the place for what you are reading, watching or listening to right now.
    • For Later is like a wish list, a place to keep track of things you’d like to borrow in the future.

    Your shelves will be set to private by default, unless you choose to change this in the settings.

    Shelf privacy settings allow you to control whether or not items you add to these shelves are visible to other library users by default. If these settings are off, anything you add is visible to others. If you plan to add ratings or comments to things you’ve borrowed, you should make them shared. Otherwise, no one else will be able to see what you’ve contributed.

    To change your shelf privacy settings

    1. Log in to your account.
    2. On the menu, click My Settings.
    3. On the My Settings page, look for the Privacy section and then click on My Shelves.
    4. On the My Shelves page, click the checkbox next to each shelf you want to change.
    5. Click Save Changes.

    Shelves

    Shelves are a place to gather together all of the titles that you have read, watched or listened to (Completed), are currently borrowing (In Progress) or would like to borrow in the future (For Later). You can add as many items as you want, you can make all or some of them private, and you can filter a shelf using the categories in the left sidebar.

    Lists

    Lists are for more focused collection of items on a particular topic (for example, Cold cases and frosty thrills). Lists can also include links to Web pages. You can create as many lists as you want, but you are limited to adding 100 items per list. You can make the list public (viewable by others) or keep it private.

  • Borrowing history

    We do not keep records of your borrowing without your permission. However, when you enable the Borrowing History feature, the system will start building a list of all the titles you borrow. Contact us to enable it for you or you can enable it yourself. 

    Enable your Borrowing History:
    1. Log in to your account.
    2. On the menu, click My Settings.
    3. On the My Settings page, under the Account Preferences heading, find your Borrowing History setting.
    4. Click Change.
    5. On the Borrowing History page, click the toggle to turn borrowing history on or off.
    6. Click Save Changes.
    7. You’ll see the message: Your new information has been saved.
    • Your Borrowing History page is visible only to you.
    • The Borrowing History feature is not retroactive. It begins with the first item you return after you enable the setting.
    • The Borrowing History feature only saves up to the 300 most recent titles.
    • Disabling Borrowing History will permanently erase your borrowing history.

  • Privacy

    Privacy settings control determine whether or not your interactions with catalog items—things you rate or comment on, add to your shelves or lists—are shared with other library users.

    To view your privacy settings

    1. Log in to your account.
    2. On the menu, click My Settings.
    3. On the My Settings page, look for the Privacy section.

    Your shelves will be set to private by default, unless you choose to change this in the settings.

    Shelf privacy settings allow you to control whether or not items you add to these shelves are visible to other library users by default. If these settings are off, anything you add is visible to others. If you plan to add ratings or comments to things you’ve borrowed, you should make them shared. Otherwise, no one else will be able to see what you’ve contributed.

    To change your shelf privacy settings

    1. Log in to your account.
    2. On the menu, click My Settings.
    3. On the My Settings page, look for the Privacy section and then click on My Shelves.
    4. On the My Shelves page, click the checkbox next to each shelf you want to change.
    5. Click Save Changes.

    Yes! Part of the fun of creating lists is to share your expertise with others. When you create a list, you can choose who gets to see your list. By default, lists are visible to everyone. You can change that when you publish your list.

    Your activity feed records your interactions with items in the catalog, and with content created by other library users. Your recent activity appears on your profile page. By default, it is shared and visible to anyone who views your profile page. It shows:

    • items you add to your shelves,
    • lists you create,
    • comments and ratings you add to specific titles,
    • lists or comments by others that you like.

    If you prefer, you can keep your recent activity private. If you do so, other patrons who follow you won’t see your comments, ratings or other activity in their newsfeeds.

    To change your feed privacy settings

    1. Log in to your account.
    2. On the menu, click My Settings.
    3. On the My Settings page, look for the Privacy section and then click on My Feeds.
    4. On the My Feeds page, click the checkbox to make your feeds private.
    5. Click Save Changes.

    The system is designed to log you out automatically if you haven’t done anything for 30 minutes. This is a security feature, to protect your account from unauthorized use in the event that you forget to log out.