FAQs for our State Mandated Closure
FAQs for our State Mandated Closure
The Ocean County Library's automated telephone system calls when requested items are available for pick-up, or when items are overdue. The automated phone system will leave a generic message on your answering machine. You may use the automated telephone system to access your library account anytime, except during system maintenance, to renew titles, list titles on loan, list or cancel titles on hold, hear your current fines, or list overdue items. You will need the following:
A touchtone phone
All 14 digitals of your library barcode number
Your password – to ensure your privacy, you must have a password. If you didn’t select a password, it is the last four digits of your phone number. You can change your password at the library or online.
To dial into the automated telephone system:
Southern Ocean County | Northern Ocean County |
Western Ocean County | |
*Note: If you dial one of the numbers above and it rings more than five times the line is in use. Hang up and try again.
Once connected, wait until the introduction finishes and then:
For English, press 1
For Spanish, press 2
Once you have selected language:
Press 1 to renew or get library account information
Enter all 14 digits of your barcode followed by the # sign
Enter your password and press the # sign
Wait approximately 5 seconds. When your name is announced, listen carefully to the available options. You will be able to renew titles, list titles on loan, list or cancel titles on hold, hear your current fines, or list overdue items.
Active - When a hold request is placed, its status is automatically set to active.
Cancelled - The library canceled the hold at the patrons request, patron cancelled the hold requests, or the hold request was in the status of unclaimed, then the library removed it from their hold shelves.
Expired - If a hold request is not filled within the specified period of time, the request status automatically changes to expired. Currently set to 1 year of when the hold request was placed.
Held - The item is ready for the patron to pick up.
Inactive -An inactive hold request has an activation date in the future. The patron has changed the activation date to a future date.
Pending - When the library is searching for a copy of the title to fill a hold request the status is pending.
Shipped - A shipped hold request means that an item is being shipped from a branch other than the pickup branch.
Held - The item is ready for the patron to pick up.
Unclaimed - If the requesting patron does not pick up the held item within the specified period of time (currently 5 business days), the hold request status automatically changes from held to unclaimed.
You can access your account through the Library Catalog.
From the Home screen choose My Account.
Click on Hold Requests. Your list of holds appears on the next screen.
Click on the check box in front of the holds you wish to cancel.
Click on Cancel Selected.
The next screen will ask you to verify that you want to cancel the requests.
Press Yes to cancel the requests.
Note: The canceled hold will still show up on your holds requests list, however, it will have a cancelled status rather than an active one and will go away after 30 days.
There are several reasons an item does not renew:
If you need more information, please call your local branch and ask for circulation.
There are several options that you can use to renew your library items if they are available for renewal. You can call the Automated Telemessaging System, 24 hours a day, to renew by phone, call the library and speak to a staff member, or you can do it online through the catalog. Use the following instructions to renew items through the catalog.
Log into your Library Account with your barcode and password.
Click on your name and then Items Out.
You have two options, either Renew Selected Items or Renew All Items.
To renew selected items:
To renew all items available for renewal:
You will know that the items have been renewed successfully when you get a screen displaying the number of items successfully renewed.
Remember to Log Out of your account when done.
Note: If the number under Renewals Left is zero then the item cannot be renewed. Please see the “Why don’t my items renew?" question below, or contact your local branch for more information.
A password is needed to protect your privacy when accessing your account either through the online library catalog or through our automated telephone system. If you did not give us a password at time of registration, the last four digits of your phone number were used. If you want to change your password and you know the current one, you can change it yourself through our online library catalog. Click on the My Account and then click on My Record. Log in with your library barcode number and current password.
Click Change Logon, then click Change Password. You will then see a screen with your information.
Check the box in front of Change Password. In the boxes, type your old password, your new password, then your new password again in the Verification Box. When done, be sure to click the Save button.
If you do not remember your old password, you must visit a library branch and present identification before we can change your password.
Polaris requires that you enter either the full barcode (14 digits) or the barcode’s last 9 digits. After you enter your barcode, press the Tab key or place the cursor in the Password Box and type in your password. Press the Enter key. If your barcode number still does not work, call your local branch and ask them to verify your account information.
You can find new DVDs, new Blu-ray discs, and new music CDs by doing the following in our catalog:
Click the Search tab and then the Browse tab to change the search method.
In the “Search for:” box, change Title to Series.
In the “that begins with:” box, type in ONE of the following:
From the Home screen choose My Account.
Click on Hold Requests. Your list of holds appears on the next screen.
Navigate to the Mobile PAC on your mobile device.
Click on Search the Catalog.
Enter your search in the Search Box for the item you wish to reserve and press Search
A list of items matching your search will be returned. Click on the title of the item you’re interested in to bring up that item’s screen.
Choose Request It.
If you are not logged into the catalog, you will be prompted to log in at this time. On the Log On screen, type in your Barcode and Password and press Log On.
Once logged on, you will then be taken to a screen where you can change your Pickup Location and Activation Date if you don’t want the defaults. When done, press Submit Request:
If there are other hold requests already placed for this title, it will tell you how many and ask if you still want to place the request. If you do, select Yes to place the request.
Once the request is placed, you will get a screen that will give you various options including to Log Out and go to the Home screen.
Navigate to the Mobile PAC on your mobile device.
Click on Preferences.
Choose the options you would like and click Save Changes.
Patrons can receive eReceipts for check-out, renewal, and fine receipts from in the library and for renewal receipts from Power PAC, Mobile PAC, and the automated Telemessaging system.
Login to your library account.
Click on Contact Information and Preferences.
In the section Preferences, under E-Receipts, check the box in front of E-mail.
Please make sure the email address in your library record is correct. Update e-mail address if necessary.
Click Submit Change Request.
Yes. Log in to your library account and click on My Account and choose My Record from the pull down menu, then choose Contact Information and Preferences.
Check the box at the bottom to Maintain Reading List.
A window will pop-up with the following message explaining the impact of keeping a permanent reading list:
“The feature you have selected is associated with person data in you patron account. Such data may be accessed by law enforcement personnel without your consent. Do you wish to proceed?”
If you wish to proceed, click OK.
Click Submit Change Request.
Note: When you check out an item, it will not appear on the reading list until the next day. If you want to turn off Reading History, repeat the steps listed above, unchecking Maintain Reading List box. When you turn off Reading History, your existing list of read items will be permanently deleted.
Even if a book is listed as "In" at a branch it may not be available to fill your request. If you have been waiting longer than a few days for a book that was “In”, please call the branch and they will assist you.
You can check your Request list two ways:
Your request list will include the title, the pickup branch, the status, and your place on the waiting list.
You can also call our Automated Telemessaging System or any of our branches to have your list verified for you.
You can renew your items using our Automated Telemessaging System, 24 hours a day, or you can call any of our branches during business hours to speak with circulation.
When you see a title you want, look for the Place Request button. If you are not signed in, you will be asked to log in with your library Barcode number and your Password. Once you are logged in, choose the branch where you want to pick up your item(s) from the Pickup Locations pull down menu. Finally, click the Submit Request button.
Don’t forget to log out when you are done especially if you are using the catalog on a public computer.
If the title has hold requests on it, the item cannot be renewed and the system will list the 'renewals left' as 0 even if you haven’t used your two renewals. If you need more information, please contact your local branch
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