How many times have you picked up a book in a bookstore or a friend's house and wondered whether or not you could get it from the Library? The Library Anywhere iPhone/iPad and Android apps can now scan the UPC barcode on the back of most books to search the Library catalog. Watch the video to see how it works!

Amazon.com announced yesterday that they are now selling more Kindle books than all print books combined! It's amazing how rapidly the popularity of eBooks has grown. People love to read, and now they love to read on their pads, phones, Kindles, Nooks, and other readers. The Library has a Digital Books Show & Tell Subject Guide for people just starting to download eBooks and audiobooks. Library cardholders can check out both from the Northern California Digital Library. Kindle format books will be available from NCDL later this year. There are also some free out-of-copyright classic eBooks in the Library catalog. We hope we'll have the books you want wherever and however you want to read them.

The Library catalog, events listings, hours, and contact information are now available on your phone or mobile device using Library Anywhere.

You can download the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch app, search the Android Market for "Library Anywhere", or visit the mobile web site. There's also a Universal/Accessibility site for customers who want to use the catalog on text or speech browsers or without javascript.

Using Library Anywhere, you can search the catalog, place requests, and check your account wherever you go.

Do you want to see what books, CDs, Playaways, and DVDs customers are checking out and requesting most at your Library? Visit the new Popular Titles page. 

 

You can now pay overdue fines and other Library charges when it is convenient for you using a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express credit card:

• Sign in to your account and click on the "unpaid fines and bills" link. The list of charges outstanding on your account will display
• Click on the "Pay Now" button.
• A payment form will open. Enter your billing and credit card information, then click on the "Submit" button.
• A confirmation window will open. Verify that the information is correct, then click on the "Submit" button.
• Once the payment is confirmed by the processor, a receipt will be displayed. Click on the "Print" button to make a copy for your records.
• A receipt will also be e-mailed to you if you have an e-mail address set in your account or you entered an email address in the payment form.

Your credit card information is encrypted using an industry-standard SSL Web Server Certificate. This information is immediately forwarded to the Payflow Pro secure payment gateway to complete your transaction. No credit card information is stored in the Library computer.

Charges will appear on your credit card statement as CITY OF MONTEREY LIBRA. Overdue fines and other charges for Monterey Public Library books and other items are received by Monterey Public Library. Fines and charges for Pacific Grove Public Library items are received by Pacific Grove Public Library.

If you stop by the Library on Thursday, March 19, you'll discover the doors closed and the building dark.   No, we're not feeling the impacts of budget cuts already

Today is a day for all staff to learn more good ways of providing excellent service to all our customers.  As more people visit the Library, and demand for our resources increases, we want to be sure we are still practicing the Library IDEA - welcoming, delighting, inspiring and educating ALL.

We do hate to to close the Library - whether for training, building work or even a holiday - because we know our customers depend on our services, every day.  And we especially hate to close today, when the Monterey County Weekly readers have voted us the "Best County Library" for 2009.  Thank you - we are honored!

We'll hope to see you on Friday, when we re-open at 10 a.m. and welcome an average of 1,100 people through our doors. Or maybe on the weekend, as you're stopping by the special Friends of the Library used book sale on the way back from "Cutting Day" at the Friends Plaza, or in-between errands when you're in downtown Monterey.

Stop by and see what we've learned. Tomorrow!

The Library Catalog adds new features frequently. If you would like to know more about how some part of the Catalog works, click on a Help link at the top-right or bottom-center of most windows. The Catalog's new Help screens give you a wealth of information about navigation, searching, your Library account, and many other features.

The tabs at the top of the window link to each section. Be sure to mouse over screen images and  menu links for more information.

For even more help, visit, call or email the Reference Desk (refdesk@ci.monterey.ca.us).

This Catalog Blog post isn't really about a catalog feature. It's about John Udell's Library Lookup bookmarklet that makes it easy to check library catalogs for books found in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and other Web bookstores.

Here's the bookmarklet for our catalog:
PALS Lookup
Nothing is supposed to happen when you click this link! To use the bookmarklet while you are browsing in online bookstores, follow these steps:

If you use Internet Explorer, right-click on the PALS Lookup link above, choose Add to Favorites, and create your favorite in the Links folder. Using many other browsers, you can drag the link into your toolbar. If you have trouble getting the link into the toolbar (or you want to learn more about bookmarklets) see this video.

Now visit your favorite Web bookseller, find a book you are interested in, and view the full page about that book. Click on your PALS Lookup toolbar link, and a new window will open with a Library catalog search for your book.

The search uses the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) that is part of the store's Web address for each book. If the ISBN doesn't match, try another edition of the same book. Here are a few more tips.

Let us know how it works by commenting on this post.

Do you ever forget which books in a series you have read? Would you like to keep a list of everything you borrow from the Library? Use Reading History in the Library catalog. Reading History is normally turned off, and a permanent record of the titles you check out is not retained unless you turn it on. (For more information, read the catalog Privacy Statement.)

To turn Reading History on, log into your Library account and click:

To begin saving your history, click:

Your list will only include items you check out after you turn Reading History on.

You can click on any title to view the catalog record, and you can delete selected titles from your list. To stop saving your history and remove your list from the catalog computer, delete all titles and click:

This is the first of a series of posts about features of the Library catalog that may be new to you.

Do you frequently search for the same authors or subjects? Would you like to find out when your favorite author releases a new book or the Library acquires books, audiobooks, or DVDs on a particular subject? You can save searches in the catalog, repeat them whenever you want, and request email notices when new titles that match your search are added to the catalog. Here's how:

• Log into your Library account
• Enter a search in the box at the top of your Library account window, or click  New Search to enter a search on the main page.
• Look at your results list to make sure you have found what you were looking for.
• In the search box at the top of the results window, click .
• Click  My Account at the top of the page to go back to your account window.
• Click 
• You will see a list of your saved searches: Click  the Search link to repeat your search. Click the Mark for Email checkbox to receive an email notice when a new title matches your search. Click the Mark to Remove checkbox to delete a saved search.
• If you have made any changes, be sure to click .

Questions? Please Add a comment so that we can share the answer with other readers.