- What is LibrariesWest?
- How can I find out where my local library is and its opening times?
- How do I find out my PIN?
- How do I change my PIN?
- How do I renew my loans?
- What can I do if a renewal is refused?
- How do I make a reservation?
- How do I find out the progress of my reservations?
- How do I cancel a reservation?
- I've just tried to reserve an item but it won't let me. Why is this?
- What are Premium DVDs and Videos?
- Why do charges for reservations vary?
- How do I reserve an item which is not in the catalogue?
- I have asked to be notified by email. Why have I not received a notification that my reserved item is available?
- How do I change my email address?
- How do I change my address?
- Why does an author's name appear more than once, in different forms?
- Why does no classmark appear in the title list, but one or more classmarks show in the catalogue record?
- Why do some Catalogue searches take a long time?
- How can I find out what I've previously borrowed?
- How can I write a review of a book I've read?
- How can I read reviews written by other library users?
- What do I do if I lose my membership card?
- What can I do if my membership has expired?
- Why is there a link to www.amazon.co.uk on the site?
- What is a Wish List and how do I use it?
- What is an ISBN and how can I use it to search on the catalologue?
- What is a 'Class' search and how do I use it?
What is LibrariesWest?
LibrariesWest is made up of five library services
- Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset, and South Gloucestershire who have agreed to work together on a number of different processes
in order to reduce costs and to offer a better service to customers. One
of the major outcomes of this is the online catalogue, which combines the
individual library catalogues of all five authorities,
and offers customers a greater choice of items to borrow and/or reserve.
Although each individual authority has control
over the libraries in its area and over their day-to-day running, the cataloguing
and purchasing of books is done centrally in order to achieve the best
value for money, apart from Bristol who are currently part of another purchasing
consortium. However, the decisions as to which books, videos, DVDs etc
are to be purchased is still done within each authority, with only the
actual ordering done centrally.
Return to top
How can I find out where my local library is and its opening
times?
From the home page of the Catalogue click on your authority's link
at the bottom of the page. The links on
the left take you to general information about the library service, and
the links on the right take you direct to library opening hours.
Return to top
How do I find out my PIN?
Please ask a member of staff at your local library,
or contact us by telephone or email. We may need to ask you some security
questions and it may not always be possible to do this by telephone or
email. However, once you have your PIN number you can change it to one
you will find easier to remember. This can be done in person at the library,
or online.
Return to top
How do I change my PIN?
From the home page of the Catalogue click on
the link “Personal record” in the navigation box on the left of
the screen. Enter your membership number and PIN at the prompt. Your
membership number is below the barcode on your library card, and your PIN
number is available from your library (see How do I find out my PIN?). Click on “Change your PIN” and follow the
instructions. You will need to confirm your current PIN before you can
change it to a new one.
Return to top
How do I renew my loans?
From the homepage of the Catalogue click on
the link “Your Loans” in the navigation box on the left of the screen,
and enter your membership number and PIN at the prompt. Your membership
number is below the barcode on your library card, and your PIN number is
available from your library (see How do I find out my PIN?).
All the items you have on loan are listed. To
renew selected items click in the box to the left of each item you wish
to renew and then click on "Renew selected”. You may also renew all
of your loans in one go by clicking on “Renew All”. The new return date
will appear to the right of each item.
Return to top
What can I do if a renewal is refused?
If an item cannot be renewed a reason will be
given alongside the appropriate item. The most common reasons are that
the item has reached the maximum number of renewals without it having been
seen by library staff, or another member has placed a reservation against
the item. In this situation please contact your local library where staff
will do their best to help you.
Return to top
How do I make a reservation?
Find the item you wish to reserve through the
catalogue. Before placing a reservation we recommend that you check to
see if there is more than one catalogue entry for the item you require
so that you can place the reservation on the entry with the most available
copies. Click on “Add to Basket” on the right-hand side of the details
about the item you wish to reserve, which will add the item to your reservation
basket which appears on the right of the screen. You can keep adding items
to your basket until you are ready to place the reservation(s). If you
are not logged in to the site you will be asked to enter your membership
number and PIN. Your membership number is below the barcode on your library
card, and your PIN number is available from your library (see
How do I find out my PIN?). You will need to
choose the library you wish to collect the item(s) from, which can be any
public library in LibrariesWest. You will also need to choose how you would
like us to notify you when the item(s) become available for you. At present
you can choose between post, email, voicemail or
text message. If you want to reserve everything
in your basket click "Reserve All".
If you only want to reserve some of the items in your basket click "Reserve
selected". Your reservation will then be complete, and you will be
notified when it becomes available for collection.
Return to top
How do I find out the progress of my reservations?
From the home page click on “Your reservations” in the navigation
box on the left of the screen. At the
prompt, enter your membership number and PIN. Your membership number
is below the barcode on your library card, and your PIN number is available
from your library (see How do I find out my PIN?).
The "Progress" column can show:
- Reserved: you are on the
waiting list, but a copy has not yet become available
- On its way: a copy has been
allocated to your reservation, and is on its way to the library where
you have chosen to pick it up
- Ready to collect: A copy is ready
to be collected from your chosen library
- Not collected: A copy became available,
but you failed to collect it within 14 days
- Expired: No copies were
available before the expiry of the reservation (usually 12 months after
the reservation was placed).
Return to top
How do I cancel a reservation?
You can cancel a reservation by clicking on
“Your reservations” in the navigation box on the left of the screen and
entering your membership number and PIN if you are not already logged in.
Your membership number is below the barcode on your
library card, and your PIN number is available from your library (see How do
I find out my PIN?). Click "Cancel" against the item you
wish to cancel. You may cancel a reservation up to the point at which it
goes into transit to the library you have chosen to collect it from without
being charged for it.
Return to top
I've just tried to reserve an item but it won't let me. Why is this?
There are a number of possible reasons for this:
- Some libraries have premium
collections of new items which have been made temporarily non-reservable
to maximise turnover. For example, bestselling fiction paperbacks and
DVD and Video Premium Titles. You may find other copies of these items
which are reservable.
- Some items are not reservable
by certain categories of member. For example, if you are under 18 you
will be unable to reserve an 18 category DVD or Video.
- Some books are for use in the
library only (usually called reference books). If you ask a member of
staff they may be able to arrange a short loan for some titles but this
cannot be guaranteed.
For further clarification please ask a member
of library staff.
Return to top
What are Premium DVDs and Videos?
Some of the very new DVD and Video titles added
to stock will be Premium Titles. Premium Titles will be charged at the
Premium Price loan fee for the first 5 weeks they are in a library. After
5 weeks the loan fee drops to the standard charge. The loan period is still
7 days.
Premium Titles will not be available for requests
until after this 6 week period.
Premium Titles have been introduced to maximise
the availability and loan potential of new DVDs and Videos.
Return to top
Why do charges for reservations vary?
The catalogue contains the stock of each authority
in the LibrariesWest Consortium (Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset & South
Gloucestershire). Although the catalogue is shared each authority has different
charges, as these are set by the elected members of each local authority.
For example, one authority may offer concessionary rates to a particular
category of member where another may not. The system recognises which local
authority library service the member belongs to and charges the appropriate
rate.
Return to top
How do I reserve an item which is not in the catalogue?
If you can't find what you are looking for on our catalogue please folow the link at the bottom the home page, or from the catalogue search page which will ask you to complete a proforma with details of the item required. We can't guarantee to supply a specific item but will do our best and inform you of the outcome.
Return to top
I have asked to be notified by email. Why have I not received
a notification that my reserved item is available?
- Is the item you reserved actually
available? (see How do I find out
the progress of my reservations)
- If the item you reserved is
available please check that the email address we have on record for you
is correct.
- If the email address we have
for you is correct please recheck that notices are being sent to you
by email rather than by post.
- There has been a problem with a few
email providers not delivering our emails. Those we know about are AOL,
talk21.com, mail.com, softhome.net, dial.pipex.com, uwe.ac.uk, supanet.com & siemens.co.uk.
If you use one of these email providers, a different email address, e.g.
Hotmail or Yahoo Mail may solve the problem, until we are able to resolve
it.
Return to top
How do I change my email address?
From the homepage click on
”Your personal details” in the navigation box on the left of the
screen. You will be asked for your membership number and PIN unless you are already
logged in. The membership number is below
the barcode on your library card, and your PIN number is available from
your library (see How do I find out my PIN?).
Click on “Update my email address” and follow the instructions.
Return to top
How do I change my address?
From the homepage click on “Your personal details” in the navigation
box on the left of the screen. You
will be asked for your membership number and PIN unless you are already
logged in. The membership number is below the barcode on your library
card, and your PIN number is available from your local library (see How do I find out my PIN?). “Change my home address” and
follow the instructions.
Return to top
Why does an author's name appear more than once, in different forms?
There are a few reasons why an author's name
may appear on the catalogue in several forms
- they may have written books
using different forms of their name e.g. Porter, Michael or Porter M.R.
Unfortunately we don't as yet have a way of cross-referencing different
forms of names in our web catalogue.
- other authors with similar
names may also exist and to differentiate between them birth dates and/or
death dates have been added. Discrepancies can occur if catalogue records
are not fully updated, or if changes in dates are not noted.
- the catalogue is created
and edited by both professional cataloguers and non-specialist staff.
In order to make stock available to the public as quickly as possible,
skeleton records with minimal information are often added, and updated
in due course.
- We are aware that names in the
catalogue are not always consistent. We are working through them to rectify
discrepancies and create a more streamlined database. However this is
a time consuming process, so please bear with us. We are always happy
to hear from customers who have spotted inconsistencies so we can correct
them.
Return to top
Why does no classmark appear in the title list, but one
or more classmarks show in the catalogue record?
The title list simply shows the title or list
of titles incorporating the words that you entered to be searched for.
In order to get more information about the titles found, the catalogue
record with full details can be accessed by double clicking on the appropriate
title. The classmark is displayed here along with
other details, to make finding the item easier.
The Dewey Decimal Classification is
used to classify non-fiction books in LibrariesWest. If there is more than
one classmark in the catalogue record, it may be that there is both a Dewey
number and a local classification number. The local numbers are frequently
used in specialist areas, such as local history or printed music.
Other reasons for duplicate classmarks are largely
historical, since the Consortium catalogue was originally formed by the
amalgamation of separate library catalogues. Different libraries may have
used different methods for classifying the stock, or may have used different
editions of the Dewey classification. In any case, we are working towards
uniformity, but it is a long job and will take some time to complete. This
is further complicated by the fact that the Bristol catalogue has only just been amalgamated.
Return to top
Why do some Catalogue searches take a long time?
Searches can vary in length depending on the
number of search terms used. If keywords entered are common to lots of
catalogue records the search time will be extended, and you will get a
lot of results to work through. Select the more unusual words from a title
to search on. The catalogue is online, so search times can also vary according
to the number of people using it at any one time.
Return to top
How can I find out what I've previously borrowed?
From the home page click on “Your Loans History”
in the navigation box on the left of the screen. You will be asked for
your membership number and PIN, unless you are already logged in. The membership
number is below the barcode on your library card, and your PIN number is
available from your library (see How do
I find out my PIN?). A record is kept of the items you have
borrowed and reserved for the last 12 months. You can choose how far back
you want to go by clicking on the arrow to the right of the box "Choose
the period" and highlighting the period you wish to search for. The
items you have borrowed during this period are listed. Click on a title
to view the catalogue record, or click on the author's name to view a list
of titles by that author. The most recent loans will appear first.
Return to top
How can I write a review of a book I've read?
Once you have searched for and found the book
on the catalogue, click on “Reviews”. You will be asked to enter your membership
number and PIN, unless you are already logged in. Your membership number
is below the barcode on your library card, and your PIN number is available
from your library (see How do
I find out my PIN?). A page will then appear asking for your review
which you can type into the box provided. Once you have completed this
page click "Review" and your review will be sent to a member
of staff who will check it is suitable for making available on the website.
We will usually only reject reviews on the grounds of offensive or inappropriate
language. This will normally take a few days. You can also write reviews
of other types of material (e.g. CDs, DVDs) in the same way.
Return to top
How can I read reviews written by other library users?
Once you have searched for and found the book
on the catalogue, click on “Reviews". You will then see a list of
reviews for that title. Not all titles have reviews on them, but if you
return to the previous page and click on the title you can then click on
the Amazon link and read any reviews written by Amazon customers. You can
also add your own review to our site by writing your review in the box
below “Add a review”. For details of how to write a review please see How
can I write a review of a book I've read?.
If you want to read other reviews written by the same person click
on the reviewer's name, which takes you to a
page of their reviews. To read any of the reviews click on the reviewer's
name.
Return to top
What do I do if I lose my membership card?
If you lose your membership card, you should
let any LibrariesWest library know as soon as possible. It is important
that you do this as soon as you discover the card is lost so that we can
prevent anyone else from using it.
When you next visit the library, you will need
to bring some proof of identity and we will give you a replacement card,
for which we may need to charge a small fee.
Return to top
What can I do if my membership has expired?
If your membership has expired please go to
your local library where staff will verify your personal details. We are
unable to re-register online at present.
Return to top
Why is there a link to www.amazon.co.uk on the site?
We are providing links to Amazon.co.uk as
part of our service to library users. Every time you follow a link from the library
web pages and buy something at Amazon, a percentage of the sale is given
back to us to be ploughed back into the library service. The cost to you
remains the same.
Even if you are buying something that isn't on the catalogue, as long as
you have used a link from the library site to reach Amazon part of your purchase
will go towards benefiting your library service.
We do not endorse, warrant or accept liability for the accuracy or content
of the Amazon website. Nor do we accept liability for any losses, costs,
demands, charges, proceedings, damages, expenses and all other liabilities
whatsoever arising from the use of the Amazon website.
Return to top
What is a Wish List and how do I use it?
The Wish List function is intended to provide a way of storing the details of items
you may wish to reserve or look at again at some point in the future. To add an item
you have found on the catalogue to the Wish List, first of all click on 'Reserve Now'
and you will be taken to the reservation page. From this page click on 'Transfer to
Wish List' and it will add it to the Wish List. If you have several items you would
like to add, click on 'Add to basket' first and then transfer the items from the basket.
Return to top
What is an ISBN and how can I use it to search on the catalologue?
ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number which is a unique numeric identifier
used by the book trade to differentiate between each version of a book published. It may
be 10 or 13 digits long depending on when it was assigned. The ISBN can be found on each
book published. To search by ISBN on the catalogue you just need to enter the number in
the ISBN search field on the catalogue.
Return to top
What is a 'Class' search and how do I use it?
'Class' search is an option under 'Advanced search', and is based on the Dewey Decimal
Classification system which is the system used in most UK public libraries for arranging
books by subject. It's only really a useful search option if you happen to know the relevant
number, which is usually up to 6 digits long, with a decimal point in the middle e.g. 745.264
is the class number used to identify antique cutlery. This number is found on the spine label
of most non-fiction books so if you find one on a subject you're interested in try searching
on that number on the catalogue. Be aware though that this is open to interpretation by different
cataloguers so searching by class number will not necessarily pick up everyting we hold on the same subject.
Return to top