Sign in help

Selecting the Sign in link will take you to the secure 'My Bookshelf' area where you will be prompted to input your library card number and PIN code to access your library record. Once signed in you will be able to:

• Edit your account details
• Request items (free of charge)
• Renew items
• Review items
• View the items you have on loan

Library card number

To be able to access this information you will require your library card details. Your card number can be found under the barcode on the back of your library card.

PIN Codes

Your PIN code is four numbers long and would have been set for you when you registered (e.g.1234).

Forgotten PIN

If you have forgotten your PIN code or if you are having difficulty signing in to your account, you may need a member of library staff to update or check that we have the correct details about you on our system. Please contact Carnegie Library or your local library for assistance.

How to change your PIN code: Modify My PIN

If you would like to change your PIN code you can do so after you have logged in to your account by selecting the 'Edit Profile' button once you click your name in the top right hand corner of the screen, which you should see once you have logged in. Scoll down the page and click on change passcode button.

Renewals

Library card holders may renew their own materials online. All material can be renewed except for materials with reserves and materials on which you owe fines.

How to:

1. Sign in to your account.
2. If not the default view click the "Checked out Items" link to view the materials you have checked out.
3. Select the materials you want to renew by checking the boxes in the RENEW column and then click the Renew Selected button. If you want to renew everything, click the Renew ALL button.
4. If you cannot renew items, a message will appear on the screen. If you are successful, a new due date will appear in the "STATUS" column. Always check the STATUS column for information on the success or failure of your renewal.

Overdue Reminders by Email

We do send out over dues to remind you of late items, but these can only be emailed to you if you supply us with your email address. You can do this by visiting any South Ayrshire library or by logging in to your online library membership.

How to provide us with your email address online:

Select the 'Modify Personal Information" button on your library record. Simply enter your email address in the space provided and select submit, you can update these details at any time. Data Protection: We will only use information you have given us to help us deliver and improve our library service.

Requests

To be able to submit a request you must be Signed in to your library account.

• Customers can request up to 6 items.
• There is no charge to place a request.
• You will receive a telephone call, letter or email (if we have your email address) to inform you when your item is available.

How to submit an item request online:

1. Sign in to your library account.
2. Search for the item on the catalogue.
3. When your results are displayed, click on the Request button. *Please note that not all items listed on the catalogue are available for loan/request e.g.items in local history collection.

Searching the catalogue

There are many ways to search the library catalogue. The links and information below will give you tips on searching for specific kinds of items.

Search Options:

• Advanced Keyword
• Author
• Classification Number
• ISBN
• Keyword
• Series Title
• Subject
• Title

Search Tips

Wildcards: Words may be right-hand truncated using an asterisk ('*') in place of other characters. The '*' wildcard may also be embedded in a search string. You may use '?' to replace a single character anywhere within a word. Examples : environment* polic*, wom?n

Boolean Operators: Use "and" or "or" to specify multiple words in any field, any order. Use "and not" to exclude words. Example: stocks and bonds. Example: (glasgow or edinburgh) and (adventure and not holiday)

Field limits: A field limit causes the system to search only the specified field for the specified word(s).

Grouping: Keyword search results are usually grouped by relevance to bring the most likely titles to the top of the list. Each group represents a similar level of relevance and results are sorted within the group by date or title. To get an ungrouped result set, use boolean operators to form a complex query.

Preferred Searches

If you have a favourite author or subject for which you often search when using the catalogue, you can save the search with the click of a button. This will prevent you from having to key in the search each time and let you place reserves on new materials quicker.

How to:

1. Sign in to your library account.
2. Search for your favourite author, subject, title, etc. or create an advanced keyword search including limits to material type, language, publication year, etc..
3. When your results are displayed, click the button marked "Save as preferred search".
4. The next time that you sign in to your account, you can click the "Preferred Searches" button to see a list of your saved searches.
5. Click on the search link associated with any of the preferred search terms in the list to quickly execute your search.
6. You can be alerted of new materials added to the library collection which match your searches. Just check the "Mark for Email" box and be sure that your library record information includes your current email address.