LOAN PERIODS: 3 weeks for all items
FINES & FEES: We are now fine free! Check out our FAQ page for more information.
RENEW ITEMS
We now have automatic renewals. This means, if an item is not on hold for another patron, the system will automatically renew your items for you. If you want to manually renew an item yourself:
- Materials may be renewed in person, at any Allegheny County Library
- By calling the Automated Phone Renewal System 412-622-1895
- Calling the library at 412-885-2255
- Online: Visiting the online catalog. Click, “My Account” to sign in with your library card number and PIN number.
- Text Message Renewals:
- First text: SIGNUP+your-14-digit-barcode+PIN to 412-459-7442 (You must include the plus signs)
- Once you sign up, you will receive texts confirming your successful sign up. When you sign up you will be enrolled in hold pickup, renewal and overdue notices by default.
- You can renewal individual items by list, text the keyword RL.
- To renew all checked out items, text the keyword RA.
- Text Message Notification & Renewal FAQ.
FREEZE MY HOLDS
Are you heading out on vacation and don’t want your holds coming in while you are gone? Or do you have too many items coming in at one time? Did you know you can Freeze your hold using your online account through the library’s online catalog?
This will keep someone’s place in line and you can select when you want your place to be active again. Follow these steps to freeze your holds:
- Access the online library catalog is by clicking My Account Login on the first screen of our library’s website.
- Click Log In in the upper-right hand corner of the online catalog screen.
- Enter the library card number and PIN number for the account.
- After you log in you can go to your Holds, under the My Account section in the upper right hand corner.
- From this screen, select the item(s) you would like to freeze, then click On Selected in the upper-right hand corner of the screen.
- There will be an option that says Freeze Hold. A confirmation screen will pop up confirming that the item is frozen.
- Note: You must go through the same process to unfreeze your holds. It does not guarantee you will get the items right away, but unfreezes your spot in the holds line.
KEEP TRACK OF MY BORROWING HISTORY
Libraries do not keep track of a patron’s borrowing history. However, the online catalog does give users the option to keep track of this. To do this, you must log-in to your account and opt into this service.
- Access the online library catalog is by clicking My Account Login on the first screen of our library’s website.
- Click Log In in the upper-right hand corner of the online catalog screen.
- Enter the library card number and PIN number for the account.
- In the upper-right hand corner, click on account.
- A list will appear including, click on Reading History.
- On the next screen an option will appear for you to keep track of borrowing history. If you gets a new library card number, the borrowing history will not be impacted.
PAYING BILLS ONLINE:
If you owe money due to a billed or damaged item, you can use a Visa, Master Card or Discover Card to pay fines and replacement fees online.
- There is no additional transaction fee charged.
- You pay all outstanding fines, or you can select line items to pay
- You will get an on screen receipt that you should print.
- If you enter a valid email address, you will get a copy of the receipt emailed to you.
- Your patron record is immediately updated with the payment. You will need to refresh the screen to see your updated patron record.
- Your credit card data is entered on a secure server and is passed directly to the payment processor. The library does not retain credit card information.
Click here for instructions on how to pay your fines and fees online.