Request for Materials Procedure

If you are an Ocean County Library cardholder and are looking for an available title that you do not see in our catalog, we invite you to fill out a Request form.  We will try to supply the item for you.

First You Will ….

Click Here To Check Our Catalog

If we own the item, use your library card to place a hold within the catalog.  We’ll deliver the item to the branch of your choice as soon as it is available.  If an item is only available in the library (Reference items), please contact staff for help in order to access the item on-site.

Confirm the item is available.  Publisher websites, online book and media stores, Worldcat, and online catalogs from other libraries are all useful in providing the type of item information you’ll need to fill out our request form.  Only one title/ISBN is permitted per form (please do not list Amazon inventory numbers/ASINs).  Requests will not be accepted until the month following publication/release (for example, an item with a publication/release date of July 31 cannot be requested until August).   Please continue to check the catalog until the month of publication/release; new items are constantly ordered and added to our catalog.

Library staff are happy to assist you with searching and requests.  Please contact your local branch staff for assistance with all photocopy and microfilm requests; these have a different procedure and are not covered by the online form.

Fill Out A Request Form

Then We Will…

Confirm the requested item is not already in our catalog.

Verify that the requested item meets our selection criteria and materials policy. 

Confirm the item information and check for availability with an approved library vendor.  Sometimes an item is not available to purchase, or it falls outside the scope of our selection criteria.  If you have indicated “Yes” on the “Will you accept an Interlibrary Loan” field on the form, then we will attempt to temporarily borrow the item from a library who does own it.  Please note that if you do not pick up an interlibrary loaned item, you will be charged a $5.00 fee. 

Note the status of your request on your library account.  Depending on the item’s availability, and on whether we purchase it or borrow it, the process may take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. 

Deliver purchased or borrowed items to the pick-up location you’ve noted on the form.  You will be notified when an item is ready to pick-up, according to the notification settings on your account (the same way you are notified about any holds you place on items in the catalog).  If we are not able to purchase or borrow the requested item, this will also be noted on your account.

Please remember…

You must be an Ocean County Library cardholder to submit a request.

We receive a large quantity of requests.  We cannot guarantee that we can fulfill a request within a specific timeframe.  Please use the “Additional Information” box on the form to tell us if you don’t need/want the item beyond a certain time (for example, “not wanted after…”).