Obtaining Materials

You can place a request for a title in your search results list and ask that the title be held for you at a library location you select. Our library also allows requests for specific copies of a title. You need your barcode number (library card number) and password to request a title.

The Grande Prairie Public Library also offers interlibrary loans. If the title you want is not available in the library system, the library obtains it for you from another source outside the system. This is particularly useful when you have searched a site outside the library system. Your request provides the bibliographic information the library needs to borrow the title from an outside source (not necessarily the site you searched). Interlibrary loans may take some time to obtain.

Request a title

Follow these steps to request any copy of a title listed in your search results.

Tip:
To request the newest materials, check the dashboard area at the side of the page. You may see lists such as New Titles or New Videos, New Sound Recordings, etc. Click a title in a list to search for the title then follow these steps to request it.

1. Navigate the search results list to the title you want.

2. Click Place Request.

Note:
The Place Request button is not displayed for titles that are Web sites or electronic resources.

The log-in form appears.

Note:
If you have already logged in, the log-in form does not appear. Go to step 4.

3. Type your barcode number (library card number) and password ( four last digits of your phone number) in the appropriate boxes, and click Log In.

The request form appears.

4. Select, from the Pickup Library list, the name of the library where you want to pick up the requested item.

5. If you want to activate your request at a future time, type the date in the Activation Date box in the format mm/dd/year (for example,02/05/2007 for February 5, 2007).

If you want your request to be active immediately, leave today’s date in the Activation Date box.

6. If you want to add a note to your request, type the text in the Note box.

7. Click Submit Request.

If other requests are active for the same title, the library will display a message that tells you how many requests have been placed before yours. You can choose to continue or cancel the request. If you click Continue, a message informs you that your request has been placed.

Note:
Your request may not be successful if your patron account is blocked or if the requested material does not circulate. A message is displayed if your request cannot be placed.

8. Click Return to search results to display your search results again, or click Go to list of hold requests to see your current list of requests.

Important:
Protect your privacy. If you see your name and a Log Out link at the top of the page, you are logged in. Be sure to click Log Out before you leave the computer.

Managing Your Requests

You can display the requests you have made for materials, and suspend, reactivate, or cancel the requests, through the Patron Account Requests view. For each item, the requests view displays the format and title of the item, the pick-up library you designated, and the status of the request. You can also get more detailed information about each request. The following statuses are common listings:

: Active - Your request for the item is active and the pick-up library will receive the item when it is available.

: Inactive - A request for an item in the library system has an activation date in the future; for an interlibrary loan item, the library must review the request before it is sent.

: Pending - An item has been requested within the library system, and the request is active.

: Held - The item you requested has been located. Our library will call you or email you when it is available for pick-up.

: Received - An interlibrary loan item is in the library and is set aside for you to check out. (After you check out an interlibrary loan item, the request is no longer displayed.)

: Not-Supplied - There are no items to fill a request that you placed in the library.

: Cancelled - The request has been cancelled.

: Shipped – The item has been shipped. In brackets it shows how many days ago the item was shipped.

The requests view will also display a Hold Position column. The numbers in the Hold Position column indicate the status of your request compared to other patrons’ requests for the same item.