Frequently Asked Questions

See the Public Access Computers page to find out what types of computers are available.

See the Public Access Computers page to see a list of software available for you to use on public computers.

Yes, it’s simple to apply online for a North Olympic Library System card. After applying online, you may place holds and use NOLS e-Resources, and then pick up your card when you come in with proof of your Clallam County residence. (If you are not a resident of Clallam County, you can purchase a subscriber card.) For more information on library cards, see Policy 3.1 Library Cards.

From the Library’s catalog page:

• Click on the My Account tab.
• Enter the barcode number from the back of your NOLS Library card with no spaces or your username if you have created one.
• Enter your password.
• Click Log In. You should now be logged in to your account. From here you may place holds, renew items and more.
• Always remember to log out, especially if you are using a shared computer!

• Yes. Go to the Library catalog and click on the My Account tab. You will see a screen with two boxes, one for your username or barcode and one for your password. Beneath the first box, there is a link called Create Username. Click on that link.
• The next screen will ask you to enter your library barcode and your password. Enter that information and click Next Step.
• You will now see your Library account page. Look for the box that says Change Logon.
• There is a checkbox that says Change Username. Put a check in that box.
• Next, type a username that you created into the New Username box. Type that same username into the Verify Username box. (Be sure to follow the instructions listed below the boxes on what types of letters, numbers, spaces, and special characters are allowed or not allowed in the username.)
• Click on the Save button. You will see a message above the Change Logon box that says Username has been successfully changed. Confirmation e-mail has been sent to the e-mail address(es) NOLS has on file.

A username might be easier for you to use and remember than the library barcode listed on the back of your library card. See the instructions above on how to create a username.

• Log into My Account with your current password.
• Select the My Record tab near the top of the page.
• Click Change Logon near the bottom of the page.
• Click Change Password.
• Enter your current password and your new password as prompted.
• Click Submit.
• You may now use your new password to log into the Library catalog.

Please note: If you’ve just changed your password, there will be a delay before it is activated in the Library’s public computer management system. To use one of the Library’s Internet computers within 24 hours of changing your password, ask Library staff to provide you with a visitor’s pass.

• If you provided an email address on your Library account, you can have your password emailed to you: click Forgot your password? on the Library catalog My Account page, or
• Any staff member can reset it for you in person if you take a photo ID to any branch of the North Olympic Library System.

• Be sure to type the library card barcode number into the username or barcode box with no spaces. If you have created a username, be sure you are spelling it correctly.
• Be sure you are using the correct password. If you have forgotten your password and you provided an email address on your Library account, you can have your password emailed to you: click Forgot your password? on the Library catalog My Account page, or any staff member can reset it for you in person if you take a photo ID to any branch of the North Olympic Library System. Sorry, to protect your security, library staff cannot reset your password over the phone.
• The Library places a routine block on Library cards needing updating–an address verification once a year and a renewal every three years. Your card might have this routine type of block on it. To remove the block, simply call your library or visit the library in person, and a staff member can update your card and remove the block.
• You might have over $25 in fees on your library account. Account holders with fees amounting to more than $25 are blocked. You can pay your fees in person in the library by check or cash, or you can use a debit or credit card to pay them online. (To pay online, visit the Library catalog, log in using your library card number or username and password, and click on the My Account tab to go to your fines and fees page.) Once you have reduced your fines to $25 or less, your account will be unblocked.

You can choose to receive library-related notifications via email, phone, or text message. To set your notification preferences online, from the Library’s catalog page:

• Click on the My Account tab.
• Enter the barcode number from the back of your NOLS Library card with no spaces, or your username.
• Enter your password.
• Click Log In.
• Click on the My Record tab.
• Locate the Contact Information and Preferences box. Click on it to open it.
• The next screen allows you to update your phone number, email address, and home address. Click Submit Change Request.

From the Library’s catalog page:

• Click on the My Account tab.
• Enter the barcode number from the back of your NOLS Library card, with no spaces, or your username if you created one.
• Enter your password.
• Click Log In. You should now be logged into your account.
• In the My Record portion of your account, you will see a button on the bottom left of the screen that says Contact Information and Preferences. Click there.
• The next screen allows you to update your phone number, email address, and home address. Click Submit Change Request.

Note: For home address changes, you will be asked to verify the change the next time you come in to the library.

If you have signed up for automatic email notices and are not receiving them, the possible reasons include:

• Your email address may be misspelled in your account. To correct your email address, go to the Library’s catalog page:
  • Click on the My Account tab.
  • Enter the barcode number from the back of your NOLS Library card with no spaces, or your username.
  • Enter your password.
  • Click Log In.
  • Click on the My Record tab.
  • Locate the Contact Information and Preferences box. Click on it to open it. Your email address will be listed below your mailing address. Make corrections to it if needed. Click Submit Change Request.
• For various reasons, your email system may block HTML email from NOLS. In your online account under Contact Information and Preferences, try changing your email notices from HTML to basic plain text format.
• Your personal email: Some email and Internet Service Providers may mistake the Library System’s email as SPAM or Junk email because the Library sends out hundreds of almost identical emails every day. Check to see if Library emails are going to your Junk or SPAM folders. Please add NOLS’ email notification address, LibraryNotice@nols.org, to your email address book.
• Your work email: In the workplace, some company servers may mistakenly mark NOLS email as SPAM. Check your Junk or SPAM folders. You may need to okay the use of your business email account for Library notices with your office’s system administrator.
• Your free webmail account (e.g., Hotmail, Gmail): If you are using a free email account and your email box becomes full, your notice will bounce back to the Library as undeliverable and you will not get that message.

Yes. To request items:

• Go to the Catalog Portal or More Search Options tab.
• Search for the item you want. In the list of results, for each item you will see a button that says Place Hold. If you are not already logged in, you will be prompted to enter your Library card number (or username) and password. Click Log In.
• You will be taken to a page that lists the item and asks you to verify at which Library you want to pick up the item and when you want to activate your request. (The default is the current day.) Make your selections, and click Submit Request.
• If other patrons have requested this item, you will be directed to a screen informing you of how many requests have been placed ahead of you and asking you whether you still want to place the request. If yes, click Continue.
• The next screen confirms that your request has been placed. You will also see your contact information and preferences listed. If any of your information has changed, click on the link to update. If nothing has changed, scroll to the bottom of the page to select Return to search results, Go to your list of hold requests, or Log Out.
• If you are unable to find the item you are looking for in the catalog, you have another option. You can ask NOLS to purchase the item or borrow it for you from another library through Interlibrary Loan. Go to www.nols.org and find the Services tab, hover your mouse over it, and click on the link called Interlibrary Loan. You’ll find an online form you can fill out to request your item.

• A regular hold request is filled with an item within the North Olympic Library System. In other words, your item
  resides at one of the four branches in the Clallam County system (Port Angeles, Sequim, Forks, or Clallam Bay).
  The item will be pulled from that branch and shipped to your location. You can place as many regular hold requests
  as needed if the item you want is owned by NOLS.
• An interlibrary loan or ILL request is filled by an item from a library outside of the North Olympic Library System.
  An ILL request may take longer to fill because the item is coming from a library somewhere else in Washington
  State, the U.S., or the world. You can place up to 25 ILL requests per calendar year with no fee. For each ILL
  request beyond 25 you will be assessed a $5.00 fee.

• Try deleting your browsing history and cookies.
• Try clearing your browser’s cache.
• Did this problem just start happening? Did you recently get a new computer or change your Internet Service Provider (ISP)? If so, you might need to contact your computer dealer or ISP to troubleshoot this issue.
• Did you install a new firewall? The firewall could be blocking something. Contact the firewall software manufacturer
  to troubleshoot this issue.
• Did you install a new browser or update your old browser? Try opening the page in a different browser and see
  if the issue repeats itself.

Yes. To renew items:

• Access your Patron Account, as described above.
• Select the Items Out tab.
• Click the box next to each item you wish to renew.
• Click Renew Selected Items at the bottom of the page.
• Note the new due date for each item. Items may not be renewed if other customers are waiting for them, or if you have already exceeded the maximum number of renewals allowed.

From the Library’s catalog page:

• Click on the My Account tab.
• Enter the barcode number from the back of your NOLS Library card with no spaces or your username if you have created one.
• Enter your password.
• Click Log In. You should now be logged into your account.
• Click on Holds. If the status notification says Held, it means your item is waiting for you at the Pickup Library you chose.
• If the status says Active, it means the request has been placed but not filled.
• If the status says Shipped, it means that the item has been shipped but has not yet arrived at your branch.
• If the status says Cancelled, it means that your hold request has been returned to general circulation. You will need to reactivate the request if you would still like to have the item.

You have seven library business days from the date notification is sent to you to pick up your request.

If the status says Cancelled, it means that your hold request has been returned to general circulation.

If it is listed as Unclaimed, it means that you did not pick up the item within the seven day period allotted, and the item was returned to circulation. You will need to reactivate your request if you would still like to have the item.

To reactivate your request, online from the Library’s catalog page:

• Click on the My Account tab.
• Enter the barcode number from the back of your NOLS Library card with no spaces or your username if you have created one.
• Enter your password.
• Click Log In. You should now be logged into your account.
• Click on the Holds tab. Look at the Status column of your item.
• Click on the title for the hold you want to reactivate. That will take you back to the catalog page for that item.
• Choose Place Hold.

If you have signed up for automatic email notices and are not receiving them, the possible reasons include:

• Your email address may be spelled incorrectly in your Library account. To correct your email address, go to the Library’s catalog page:
  • Click on the My Account tab.
  • Enter the barcode number from the back of your NOLS Library card with no spaces or your username if you have created one.
  • Enter your password.
  • Click Log In. You should now be logged into your account.
  • Click on the My Record tab.
  • Locate the Contact Information and Preferences box. Click on it to open it. Your email address will be listed below your mailing address. Make corrections to it if needed. Click Submit Change Request.
• For various reasons, your email system may block HTML email from NOLS. In your online account under Change Preferences, try changing your email notices from HTML to basic plain text format.
• Your personal email: Some email and Internet Service Providers may mistake the Library System’s email as SPAM or Junk email because the Library sends out hundreds of almost identical emails every day. Check to see if Library emails are going to your Junk or SPAM folders. Please add NOLS’ email notification address, LibraryNotice@nols.org, to your email address book.
• Your work email: In the workplace, some company servers may mistakenly mark NOLS email as SPAM. Check your Junk or SPAM folders. You may need to okay the use of your business email account for Library notices with your office’s system administrator.
• Your free webmail account (e.g., Hotmail, Gmail): If you are using a free email account and your email box becomes full, your notice will bounce back to the Library as undeliverable and you will not get that message.

• The North Olympic Library System is committed to safeguarding access to patron library records. Consistent with RCW 42.56.210 and Policy on Confidentiality of Library Records adopted by the Council of the American Library Association, it is the policy of the Library that any library record, the primary purpose of which is to maintain control of library materials or to gain access to information which discloses or could be used to disclose the identity of a library user, is exempt from public inspection and copying. These records are considered confidential and protected by the right of privacy as defined by RCW 42.56.580. (See Policy 5.1 Confidentiality of Library Patron Information.)
• What you check out is not automatically saved to a list unless you enable the reading list feature yourself online. To enable that feature, see the next question.

• Click on the My Account tab.
• Enter your username or the barcode number from the back of your NOLS Library card, with no spaces.
• Enter your password.
• Click Log In. You should now be logged into your account.
• In the My Record portion of your account, you will see a button on the bottom left of the screen that says Contact Information and Preferences. Click there.
• Toward the bottom of the box, you will see a Preferences section with a check box that says Maintain reading list. If you want to keep a history of what you have checked out, put a check mark in that box and click Submit Change Request. Note: These changes require 24 hours to take effect.

Certain federal laws, including the Patriot Act, may allow federal law enforcement officials to access library records.

A new reading history begins with the next item checked out; it does not include items checked out in the past or items currently checked out. Also, items are not added to the reading history immediately upon check-out. The reading history is updated during overnight processing.

From the Library’s catalog page:

• Click Log in on the upper left corner of the page. Enter your username or the barcode number from the back of your NOLS Library card, with no spaces.
• Enter your password.
• Once logged in, use the My Account drop down menu to select My Record. On the bottom right side of the page there is a box that says My Lists. Click Create new saved list.
• In the box provided, type a name for your list. For example, Books on Elephants.
• Click Create List.
• A blank page appears. This page is where your listed items will go once you have selected them. To find items for your list, click the Catalog Portal or More Search Options tab.
• Type a search term into the box. When you have a list of items, if you would like to add one to your list, click Add to List located on the bottom right of the item’s description box.
• A drop down menu will appear allowing you to select which list you would like to save the item to. (You can create more than one list.) Click on the name of the list. You will now see (added) next to the Add to List link.
• After you have added several items to your list, you can see your list by going to the My Lists box on the right side of the page and clicking on the name of the list.
• You can choose to delete, print, or email the list or create a new title list. If you retain the list, you can return to the list anytime you log on to your Library account.

• Go to the Library catalog. On the right side of the page, you will see a link for Popular Bestseller Lists. Click on that title to see bestseller lists from Publishers’ Weekly, The New York Times, and USA Today.
• Go to the Library website at www.nols.org. Hover over the Services tab and click the For Readers link. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find additional bestseller and other readers’ resources lists.

Go to the Library catalog. On the right side of the page, you will see links for New Titles and On-Order Items. Click on the links that interest you.

To pay a library fine online, go to the library catalog, and log in using your library card number or username and password. (The fine amount must be $2.00 or more in order to pay it online.)

• Once you are in your account, click on the Fines & Fees tab.
• Select the check boxes next to the fees you want to pay, and then click the Pay Fines Now! link at the bottom of the screen.
• You will next be taken to a screen asking you whether you will accept a .50 cent processing fee. Click Accept if you agree to the fee.
• On the Payment screen, verify your billing address, and enter your credit card information. Click Next.
• On the Payment Verification screen, verify the amount you have agreed to pay and click Submit Payment.
• Next, you will see a screen letting you know that your payment was processed successfully. Print this screen as your receipt.

To make a donation to the Library, go to the Library home page and click on the Donate button located in the bottom right corner of the page, or click here to go directly to the Donation page.

• Fill in your library barcode number if you want your name to be included with the donation. If you wish it to be anonymous, leave that field blank.
• Fill in the amount you would like to donate.
• Select whether you would like your donation to go to the Library System or to a specific branch.
• Select for what purpose you want your donation used.
• If you want to notify someone else that you are making this donation, select the notification check box.
• Click Next.
• On the Donation Payment page you will be asked to fill in your billing and credit card information. Click Next.
• On the Payment Verification page you will verify the amount you are donating. Click Submit Payment.
• You will next see a page telling you that your donation was processed successfully. Print this screen as your receipt.

Payments to NOLS will appear as North Olympic Library System.

For customer service with electronic payments, please email eHelp@nols.org, or call the Library’s Circulation Supervisor at 360-417-8500, ext. 7719.

• You might have paid for an item that was later found and turned in. If the item was in acceptable condition, you would be owed a refund of the item’s replacement cost. You can request a refund by talking with a Library staff member, by calling your Library branch, or by emailing nolsadmin@nols.org.
• You might have paid more on your fines or fees than you actually owed. If the amount is small, you can elect to leave the credit on your account and apply it later to a fine or fee you might incur, or you can request a refund by talking with a Library staff member, by calling your Library branch, or by emailing nolsadmin@nols.org.

If, after you have paid for a lost library item, you find it and you would like a refund, please contact your Branch Library.

• Port Angeles Main Library: 360-417-8500 or PortAngeles@nols.org
• Clallam Bay Branch Library: 360-963-2414 or ClallamBay@nols.org
• Forks Branch Library: 360-374-6402 or Forks@nols.org
• Sequim Branch Library: 360-683-1161 or Sequim@nols.org

You can find the Library’s refund policy in Policy 3.5 Penalties for Lost, Overdue, and Damaged Materials.

During the payment process you must enter certain contact information such as your name and address, and financial information such as a credit card number, expiration date, and card security number into an online form connected to the Library’s payment processing vendor.

All connections to My Account pages enforce the use of secure encryption and all data sent to the Library’s processing vendor is securely encrypted. You may check that your web session is secure by looking for the lock icon located in your browser’s address bar. This signifies your data is being protected during transmission. No credit card data is retained by the library system. The Library only records the amount paid and immediately credits your library account with the payment.

For more information see Policy 5.1 Patron Confidentiality.

NOLS enforces the use of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption for all transport layer transmission of users’ personal information submitted in connection with credit/debit card transactions, and for all connections to individual library user accounts. NOLS systems prohibit the use of an obsolete or unsecure SSL protocol. Your browser should indicate the security status of your connection by displaying a lock icon and by showing https:// as the prefix in the Internet address field.

See Policy 4.2 Fees and Charges.

• Yes. You can access the Library Website, Catalog and most e-Resources from any computer or smart phone connected to the Internet.
  • Exception:
    Several databases are accessible from within the Library only. Foundation directory online, and Ancestry.com are accessible only from Library public access computers.
• You may need to check with your workplace or school’s System Administrator regarding their Internet use policy.
• Due to the small screen size on smart phones, the Library’s sites might be more easily viewed from a computer.

• Make sure you are going through the Library’s web site (www.nols.org) or the catalog (http://pac.nols.org) to access links to the
  database, so that the database will recognize that you are a patron of the North Olympic Library System. The database won’t work if you are trying to access it directly through a bookmark or favorites link.
• On the Library’s home page, visit the e-Resources menu, and click on links from there, or
• From the catalog, click on the More Search Options tab, and look for the e-Resources link in the drop-down menu.
• When you get to the log-on page for the database, enter your Library card number with no spaces and your password.

• Make sure your Library card is up-to-date. If your card needs to be updated (usually once per year), you might not be able to access a Library database from home. Call or email the Library, or come in and have a staff member
  update your Library card for you.
• Make sure you are going through the Library’s website (www.nols.org) or catalog (http://pac.nols.org) to access links to the database so that the database will recognize that you are a North Olympic Library patron. The database won’t work if you are trying to access it directly through a bookmark or favorites link.
• You must allow cookies. Assure that you are allowing cookies from *.nols.org and from the databases’ web addresses.
• Due to licensing requirements, certain databases are accessible from within the Library only. Foundation Directory and Ancestry.com are accessible only from Library public
  access computers.
• Your computer’s firewall might be locking the site out.
• If you have customized your browser’s security settings, then you might need to add exceptions for nols.org.

For tips on how to change your browser’s settings, see eHow.com’s articles here:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5151483_change-browser-settings.html.

Use hoopla on a phone, tablet, or personal computer to stream or download music albums, movies, TV shows, and eAudiobooks. A NOLS library card is needed for free access.

Go to: https://www.hoopladigital.com and click “get started.” Follow the prompts to create a hoopla account and link it to you NOLS Library card. Once your account is set up, you can borrow and stream content through your computer. To download content, install the hoopla app on your Android or iOS device, then sign into the app using the email and password for your hoopla account.