What's up with my holds?

A question we hear often when you're placing a hold is, "How will you let me know when it's here?" You're able to choose how you want to be contacted by the library when you apply for a library card, and you're able to change your mind by logging in to your account on the catalog. The library uses an automated service to send out the message that you have a hold to pick up or an overdue item to return.

Right now the three options are to be notified by email, by telephone, or by the US Postal Service, aka snail mail. In our humble opinion, email is the far superior option. It's nearly instant, much more detailed, and doesn't depend on the post office's backlog or your voicemail settings. Just make sure to add SFPLCIRC@yahoo.com to your address book so your email account doesn't think it's spam.

When you login to your account, you can click "Update Account" if you'd like to change how we notify you, update your email address, or change your pickup location for holds. You can change your mailing address or phone number at any checkout desk, and you'll need proof of address to change your mailing address. If you want more information about this, we have a Library Notices section on our News page.

If you need to contact the library and prefer email, you can use our general email address, library@santafenm.gov. Also, this year we have two new email addresses. One is for circulation at circulation@santafelibrary.org. Please use this email address instead of library@santafenm.gov for questions about overdue or returned books, holds, and for all questions regarding your account. There's also one for interlibrary loan questions: interlibraryloan@santafelibrary.org. When you fill out an interlibrary loan form, you can also choose how you want to be contacted, by email, phone, or snail mail.

Of course, we're always thrilled when you pay us a visit at any of the 3 branches, and you can give us a call to inquire about your holds or ask us any other questions. Just don't flag us down with semaphore, or expect hold delivery by carrier pigeon, because that might result in a really, really long delay.

Semaphore image from the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

New Online Services

If you're like me and consider the telephone to be a Nineteenth Century invention best kept in museums, we're taking steps to help you out. While we've had the general contact email address, library@santafenm.gov for years, we've added two more to help you get to the right person on the first try.

If you have questions about overdue items, holds, your patron record, or lost / damaged items, you can email circulation@santafelibrary.org directly. As always, you can renew your SFPL items online or by calling the Renewal Line at 955-6987.

If you have questions about our Interlibrary Loan services, need to inquire on the status of an interlibrary loan request, or would like to renew your interlibrary loan (ILL), you can email interlibraryloan@santafelibrary.org. Also, you can now submit your requests online! Request forms are available here. You can email these requests as an attachment, or print out the forms and bring them in to any library branch. You can still call the Interlibrary Loan Department at 505-955-6720 to renew items or ask questions and still be notified by phone, email, or postcard when your ILL request arrives.

So now you can do the library business you need to do, all from the convenience of email!

Image courtesy of Roland.

Holds for the Holidays

With the holidays here and many of us traveling or just incredibly busy, the last thing we want to think about are our holds piling up at our local library. Thankfully, the Santa Fe Public Library has easy-to-use tools to help us manage our holds so when "normal" life resumes, we can get that book, DVD, or CD that we have our eye on.

If you're going to be out-of-town or just too busy for a while, your best bet is to freeze your holds. This means that you won't lose your hold or your place in line, just that the hold won't activate while it's frozen. When you're back from traveling or ready to resume your reading, you can just unfreeze your holds and life proceeds as usual.

If there are items that you want to check out "some day", but not soon enough to place a hold on, use the My Lists feature. This allows you to create different wish lists of books, DVDs, and CDs. When you're ready to place a hold on them, the catalog makes it very easy with just a few clicks.

Any reference librarian will be thrilled to help you set up the My Lists feature, freeze your holds, or thaw them out when you're ready. You can also find help on the Holds page or the My Lists page.