Click on a question below to find the answer.
If you can't find the answer here - please email devlibs@devon.gov.uk
Q - Can I reserve a book online?
A – Yes, you can place up to 10 reservations online, so long as the book, CD, video or DVD is available from Devon Libraries stock or from one of our partners in the Wisdom Scheme and you don’t have too much money owing on your borrower account. You will need your borrower number and your PIN, and you must have an email address to use this service. If you don’t know your PIN, please visit your local library, taking your library ticket with you, as for security reasons we can only issue it to you in person. Not a member - why not register online now?
Go to Library Catalogue and find the item you want to reserve, then click on Reserve and follow the prompts. When the item arrives at the library from which you have chosen to collect it, you will be notified by email. You will be asked to pay any charges when you collect the item.
Please note that mobile library members can only use this service if they are also registered at a static library and are able to collect their reserved items from the static branch.
Q - What is the Wisdom scheme, and how can I reserve something from your Wisdom partner libraries?
A - Wisdom is a co-operative scheme which allows you to reserve books (but not media items such as CDs or DVDs) online from our partner libraries in the South West if we don't have a copy but they do. Anything reserved via Wisdom will incur the standard out-of-county additional reservation fee.
Here's how to reserve via Wisdom:
Having selected our library catalogue, click on the Wisdom link, then on "Simple search" or "Advanced search". Click in the box by "Select all" below the list of library authorities, then put in your author or title or other search terms. If a copy of the book you want is found, click on "Request a copy" at the top of the screen and follow the prompts, filling in your details and then clicking on "Place request".
Q - I reserved a book, but I can't see it on my personal reservations record. Why not?
A – Your record only shows reservations placed for items which are in Devon Libraries stock.
If you contact the library where you placed your reservation, the staff should be able to tell you exactly what the current position is. If you don't know the phone number, please see Your Local Library.
Q - Can I renew my books online, and if so, how?
A - Yes, you can, but first you need to visit your local library (or any Devon public library on a computerised issue system) to get your PIN, as for security reasons we can only issue it to you in person. Please take your library ticket with you, present the ticket to a member of staff and ask for your PIN.
Once you have it, you will be able to look at your own borrower record to see what items you have on loan and when they are due back, what reservations you have for Devon Libraries' stock, and any charges you owe. To renew books go to the Library Catalogue and select Renew, then put in your borrower number and PIN and follow the prompts.
If you need to renew your books in the meantime, you can phone our Customer Service Centre on 0845 155 1001. You will hear a recorded message offering you the choice of using our automated phone renewal system, available 24 hours a day, or when the Centre is open (8am - 8pm on weekdays and 9am - 1pm Saturdays), holding the line to speak to an advisor.
Q - I've tried to renew my books online, but it won't accept my details. Why not?
A - There are three likely explanations.
Q - Why do we have to enter all those zeros in the ticket number? Couldn't that bit of the number be completed in advance for us?
A - They're a nuisance, aren't they, and it sounds such an obvious solution! But unfortunately, it isn't quite as simple as that, as only the more recent tickets have the zeros at the beginning, while earlier ones have them at the end. So there's no way round this - sorry!
Q - Can I use my PIN with my children's tickets?
A - No, but if you are the guarantor for your children (the person who signed their joining form as responsible for their use of the library up to the age of 16), then you will be able to renew your children's loans via your borrower details online. Their loans will appear as a link at the bottom of the screen: "View (child's name)'s loans". If you haven't been set up as a contact, you can ask the staff in your library to do this for you.
If you want to be able to access your children's details separately, the library can also tell you their PINs next time you visit your computerised library. You will need to take the children's library tickets with you, present the tickets to a member of staff and ask for their PINs. If you want, once you have their PINs, you can change them to the same number as yours by accessing their borrower record(s) on the web and selecting "Change Your PIN Here" from Your Details screen. You'll then be able to access each child's record individually, using the relevant PIN.
Q - Why do I need a PIN? It would be much easier if I could just use my borrower number.
A - This is for your own protection - without the PIN, if you lost your card, someone else could have access to your borrower record. This is the same principle as bank cards, where you need a PIN to use "hole-in-the-wall" machines.
We have far more than 9999 borrowers, but the PIN can't exceed 4 digits, so inevitably, there will be more than one individual with the same PIN. This doesn’t matter, though (just as it doesn't with bank cards, where the same applies), because the borrower number is unique, and people do not know one another's PINs.
Q - Why can't I get my PIN online?
A - Because if the issuing of a PIN were automatic (encrypted or not), anyone who had access to someone else's ticket number would be able to get their PIN, and would then have access to that person's records.
Q - Please can you spell out exactly how to do online renewals? I know there are prompts but I'd find it reassuring to have something to refer to.
A -
Q - When can I renew my books online, and what's the deadline to avoid fines?
A - You should be able to renew them at any time (including weekends), and midnight on the day when they are due for return is the deadline to avoid incurring fines! The only time when you can't renew books online is while the system is doing its backup, but as this is about 3.30am - 5am, it’s unlikely to affect you!
But it isn’t a good idea to leave it until the last minute, as you might find that some books can’t be renewed - for example, because you've already had the maximum number of renewals, or because someone else has reserved the book. By then, it will be too late to phone the library and ask for a short extension to give you time to return any such books.
Very occasionally, essential work has to be carried out on the Devon County Council network, resulting in the website being unavailable - when this happens, we will put a warning message on our website in advance. It usually only lasts for a couple of hours or so, so it's worth trying again later.
Q - What does it mean when the catalogue record for a book says "no copies"?
A - This means we haven't got any copies in stock, but the catalogue record for that item hasn’t been deleted yet. It happens when all the copies of something we used to stock have been withdrawn, or when it's been decided not to purchase a book which was temporarily added to the catalogue. We run housekeeping routines to delete such entries, but in between the housekeeping, titles do accumulate.
You can still put in a reservation at your local library for a "no copies" book, so long as it doesn’t turn out to be one that was actually never published!
Q - Why can’t I search for items held in my own library without having to look at the whole county's stock?
A - If we were able to introduce this feature, it would seriously affect response times - the search would take far longer as each individual item would have to be looked at to see if it was at the library in question. With the current search facility on the web, it's only the most popular titles that produce a long list of locations; most are no more than one screenful, so you can quite quickly skim down the list to see if any are in a particular library. This is faster than the delays that would be entailed by an automated individual library search.
Q - I can’t see where copies of the title I want are located in Devon - why not?
A - The web catalogue does say where there are copies, but you have to click on the entry first, then "More Details". You may then need to scroll down to see "Copy availability"
A word of warning: "Check shelves" should mean the library in question has a copy available, but if you're planning to visit, it's always worth phoning first and asking them to put it back for you, as it could have gone missing, or someone else might borrow it before you get there.
Q - What is "Galaxy" and how does it work?
A - Galaxy 2000 is the system Devon Library and Information Services uses to hold and control all its data relating to library stock, borrower records, issue/discharge transactions, catalogue records, reservations and the like. It isn't directly available to members of the public, but if you use one of our Viewpoint terminals to view catalogue data or use the Library Catalogue , you are linked to the relevant elements of the Galaxy 2000 system.
Basically, the database consists of various linked elements, which look at one another as and when necessary. The main parts are
What happens when a book is issued to a borrower is that the system creates a link between the relevant borrower record and item record. When the book is discharged, it cuts the link. Similarly, when a book is reserved for someone, it links the borrower record to the catalogue record, and within whatever limits we have set for it to search, it looks for the first copy to be returned, and then directs it to the requesting borrower. And all item records are permanently linked to the relevant catalogue records.
Of course, there are lots of further checks the system has to make when transactions take place. For example, when you try to borrow a book, it has to check whether that book is one that can be borrowed, and if so whether you are entitled to borrow it (you can’t, for instance, if you owe us a lot of money!). When you renew a book, as well as looking at your borrower record, the system has to ask itself: is it something like a video or a CD which can't be renewed, has it been renewed the maximum number of times, is it an Interlibrary loan book, has it been reserved for someone else, is it overdue? It also has to calculate any charges owing.
Q - When a book is on loan, why doesn’t the catalogue show when it's due back?
A - The main reason is that the date when a book is due for return is no indication as to when it will actually be returned. It might still have a long loan period left, and nevertheless be returned just after you checked, or it might appear to be at the limit but then be renewed several times, or go seriously overdue. The date of return also doesn't indicate whether the book will be immediately available for loan on return (it won't, for example, if there's a waiting list for it, or if it's on loan to another library). So in fact, knowing whether it is currently on loan or on the shelf is really just helpful as a due date.
Even if it were considered desirable, including such information would place a further load on the system and would risk degrading the response times unacceptably. Bear in mind that the data is constantly changing, with thousands of issues, discharges and renewals every day.
A - Go to the Library Catalogue, and select My Account. Enter your borrower number and current PIN to access your borrower record, then select Details. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen, click on Change your PIN here, and follow the prompts.
Q - Can I join the library online?
A - You can register for membership online which will enable you to place reservations for items in the catalogue, but you will still have to visit the library to complete your enrolment and to borrow items. We do ask to see proof of your name and current address and you will need to sign a membership form when you visit us.
Online services such as access to the library catalogue or enquiries don't require you to be a library member, and there is no advantage in having access to your borrower record until such time as you have items on loan or reserved.
Q - Can I use my credit card to pay charges I owe online?
A - No, I'm afraid this isn't possible at present, though it's one of a range of future developments which we hope to introduce later.
Q - I'd like you to provide a link to my website from your site - would you be willing to do so?
A - If you're representing a local club or society, please check our Community Information Database to see whether we already have your organisation's details. If not, please contact commorgs@devon.gov.uk who will send you a form to complete.
We no longer provide lists of links to external websites on the Library Service's web pages but instead contribute to cyberLibrary at www.cyberlibrary.org. This is a site maintained by a partnership of public library authorities in the South West which provides links to recommended websites on a wide range of topics. Please go to the cyberLibrary for further information and about how to make a request for a site to be included.
Q - Your catalogue says you have a book that I want to buy. It's out of print so I can’t get it elsewhere. Will you sell me yours?
A - I'm afraid we don't sell books like this as it's part of our role to retain such out-of-print titles so that they can be made available for people who want to read them.
If you have Internet access, you might like to try one of the out-of-print booksearch services available on the web. Some of these are free, others may charge either to perform a search or if they succeed in finding you the book you require. A few possible starting points are:
http://ukbookworld.com/cgi-bin/search.pl
www.harrogate.co.uk/harrogate-band/bookwebs.htm
If you don't have Internet access yourself, you'll probably find that your local library offers some kind of free computer provision. For details of free computer access in Devon's Libraries, please see Computers.
Alternatively, your nearest Central Reference Library might stock "Sheppard's book dealers in the British Isles", which contains a comprehensive listing of secondhand book dealers in the UK. You could use this to identify some suitable booksellers to try.
A good dealer in regional books is Ambra Books at http://www.localhistory.co.uk/ambra. Devon booksellers, including good local title stockists such as Honiton Old Bookshop and Dartmoor Bookshop are listed at http://www.inprint.co.uk/thebookguide/shops/south_west/devon.shtml
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