My Library Card
Visit your local branch Library, or sign up online. Library cards are free to residents of Clallam County.
Bring proof of identification and an item with your current local address on it (such as your driver’s license, a utility bill, or a lease agreement). If you do not yet have a Clallam County address, you may qualify for a Limited Service Card. (See below.)
A Limited Service Card allows you to check out up to two items at a time. Once you can establish proof of residency in Clallam County, your card will be upgraded to a Full Service Card.
A Full Service Card allows you to borrow Library materials with no limit on the number of items you can check out, except for a fifteen DVD limit. Any resident of, or property owner in, Clallam County qualifies for a Full Service Card if you can provide proof of identification and a current local address. (See Policy 3.1 Library Cards.)
- Come to the desk at your branch library and let the staff person know that your card is lost. In order to prevent unauthorized use of a card or account, theft or loss of library cards should be reported to the library immediately.
- Bring identification with you so that the staff person can access your library account. If you left your card in the library and it was returned to the service desk, the staff member can return your card to you at this time. If you need a new card, show the staff member your identification, and he or she will issue you a new card. If you find your old card later, cut it up and throw it away because its number is no longer valid.
- Yes, if the family member gave you their card to present at the library while checking out items for them, or
- If you are listed on one of your family member’s accounts as an alternate borrower which would allow you to pick up hold requests for them. You can also allow a family member to be listed on your library account as an alternate borrower. This designation would allow them to pick up hold requests for you.
- For further information, see the Library’s Policy 3.2 Borrowing Privileges.
Library Materials
- A Full Service Card allows you to borrow items with no limit, with the exception of a 30 DVD limit.
- A Limited Service Card allows you to borrow up to five items at a time.
Most library materials, including books, music CDs, audio book CDs, have a three week (21 day) loan period. DVDs have a one week (seven day) loan period.
- Call or come by the library.
- Renew items online.
- Renewable Library materials will be automatically renewed when they’re due. Once an item has been twice renewed or requested by another patron, however, the due date will be fixed and regular overdue charges will apply. Patrons will receive an email three days before an item is due, notifying them if the item should be returned or if it will be automatically renewed. (If the item is renewed, the loan period will be extended from the original due date, not the date of the notice.)
- If the item might still be in your house or car, if possible, renew the item’s loan period to give yourself more time to locate the item.
- If the item is slightly damaged, bring it to the service desk so staff can determine whether the item can be repaired.
- If the item cannot be repaired or is lost, come to the service desk to pay the replacement cost, processing fee, and any overdue fines incurred. The item will then be removed from your account. Note: If you find a lost item after having paid for it, please return the item to the library to receive a partial refund.
- See Policy 3.5 Penalties for Overdue, Lost, and Damaged Materials for more information and exceptions to the refund policy.
- 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.
- Call or come by the library.
- Request items online. See Requesting and Renewing Items Online.
- 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.
- Call or come by the library.
- Look it up online. See Requesting and Renewing Items Online.
- Choose a notification method so that you are called, emailed, and/or sent a text when your item is ready to be picked up. (See below for options for setting up notifications.)
- 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.
Yes, you will receive a notice if you have overdue items. Your notice will be sent to you by your preferred method of notification (email, phone, or text). Your first overdue notice is sent three days after the due date. If the items have not been returned, second and third notices will be sent 21 days and 42 days after the due date. After 63 days, a bill for the items will be mailed to you.
- You have changed phone numbers and need to update your number at the library. (Either call or come in to update.)
- Your phone number might be listed incorrectly in your Library account. Please call or come in to correct it.
- To correct your phone number online, 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 phone number will be listed below your email address. Make corrections to it if needed. Be sure to format your phone number this way: 1-xxx-xxx-xxxx. (The automated phone system requires this formatting in order to recognize all numbers.) Click Submit Change Request.
Online Resources
Library Public Computers
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.
My Library Account – Logging On
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.
Updating My Contact Information Online
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.
Requesting and Renewing Items Online
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.