Blog

Our new catalog interface has been in place for a few weeks. Now that things are smoothing out, we thought it time for a quick FAQ answering some of the most common questions we've received since the launch.    If you are unfamiliar with the lingo, the "catalog" is the portion of the library website where you can seach for books, music and other library materials, place holds on those items, review your account and renew materials you have checked out.  

What happened to my username?

Our former catalog interface, Bibliocommons, required each user to create a unique username when first activating one’s online account.  Our new catalog, Enterprise, does not require a username – your login is simply your library card number and your password.  If you’re having a hard time remembering that string of digits, it is possible to prompt your web browser to remember login information for you. Here's how:

 

Internet Explorer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/fill-in-forms-remember-passwords-autocomplete#ie=ie-11
FireFox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/password-manager-remember-delete-change-passwords
Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95606?hl=en

 

Of course, ONLY do this on computers that you do not share with other people (i.e. not on a computer in the library’s computer lab).

Where are the New Item lists?

We’ve heard from some users that they miss the “Newly Arrived” and “On Order” lists that appeared in our old catalog.  We’re working to make those available again in the new catalog interface, so keep an eye out for them arriving soon!

Why has the catalog been so sloooowww?

Since the launch, we have certainly seen some real issues with slowness in catalog searching; while the speed has markedly improved since our launch in September, our consortium is working with the vendor to continue to improve the response time of searches. Additionally, the library's new Fiber connection went live on Monday, which will speed up all internet connections from within the library, including those connecting to the catalog.

So why the change?

Beyond the fact that our new catalog interface is from the same vendor as our underlying catalog and account system and thus is more tightly integrated, there are several nice features that we believe will make it easier for you to find the items you want in our catalog:

• No more Boolean: the words “and” and “not” will be treated as words, not Boolean limiters, in a keyword search, so a search for “bud not buddy” will find that book title, not just items with the word “bud” but not “buddy”.
• Facets: after performing your initial search, you can use the Facets on the left side of the results screen to further narrow down your results; this kind of searching is reminiscent of searching for items on modern online shopping sites like Amazon, Target and Walmart.
• Text me! Our new catalog gives you the option of texting an item’s information (Title, Author, Call #) to your cell phone; simply click the Text This To Me button on a particular item in the catalog and a window will pop up where you can enter your phone number and select your mobile provider from the list, and voila! No more writing call #s down on a slip of paper!
• Checkout history: You can opt in to keeping a running history of items you have checked out within your personal account preferences. Check the ‘Record my checkout history’ and ‘Show my checkout history’ checkboxes in your preferences and our catalog system will start keeping a list of items you have checked out and returned; the Checkout History list will hold up to two years of checkouts.
• ADA Compliant View: Clicking on the small ♿ icon in the upper right corner of the catalog page will cause the catalog to switch in to ADA Compliant mode, making it easier for our users who may be using a screen-reader or other assistive technology to navigate the catalog.
• And something we are particularly excited about that is coming soon: download eBooks and eAudiobooks directly from the catalog!  Once the configurations are complete, our users will be able to download eBooks and eAudiobooks directly via the item’s link in the catalog, instead of linking through to the OverDrive/MyMediaMall web site to download the item.

Is it only Des Plaines's Catalog that Changed?

No, we belong to a consortium with 23 other libraries, and our move to the new catalog interface was a group decision.  We’re continuing to work with our consortium on making improvements, and if you have a question regarding the catalog that isn’t addressed in this list, please feel free to email us.

We hope you’ll find that the new catalog is easier to use and allows to you find more of the materials that you are seeking.  If have any questions, or issues, we’d love to hear from you.