New Updates and Features Coming Soon to our Online Catalog!

By Peter SM RSS Fri, June 19, 2015

The Free Library has been hard at work upgrading our online catalog to make it more user-friendly, encourage exploration, and offer better customer service. With many suggestions and feedback from both staff and the public, we will be launching our new and improved online catalog on Tuesday, June 23rd!

NEW CATALOG FEATURES

  • Online Registration – Users can now sign up for a library card online and instantly receive a library card number and PIN via email! You can even print out a copy of your library card with your name on it!
    Online Registration

    Online Registration
     
  • Overdrive Integration – A big announcement for all our voracious ebook reading customers: You can now login to your account, place holds, and check out items from Overdrive directly in our catalog!
    Overdrive Integration
     
  • Library Community – An interactive feature that provides an online space where library card holders can create a public profile, make and share lists of books, movies, music, tag titles in our catalog, review and rate items they like or dislike, and much more!
    Library Community

    Library Community
     
  • Login with your Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads Account – You can link your Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads account to your Online Account, allowing for an easier login option if you can’t always remember your library card number and PIN.
    Login with your Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads Account
     
  • Refined Formats – We’ve added new formats such as Audiobook CD, Audiobook Download, Book Children, Music Download, and Music Vinyl to help you filter and narrow down your searches easier.
    Refined Formats

    Refined Formats
     
  • New & Updated Items – A more accurate and daily listing of all the new and updated items in our catalog, from the newest bestsellers and award-winning books to the latest dvds and blu-rays to music cds, podcasts, and more!
    New & Updated Items
     
  • Responsive Layout – A fully responsive layout means our catalog will display properly on all screen sizes (desktops, tablets, smartphones, etc.)
     

Make sure to check out our blog on Tuesday for some video tutorials and overviews of the catalog and its new features!


Have a question for Free Library staff? Please submit it to our Ask a Librarian page and receive a response within two business days.

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Will the hold limit be lifted? Ten is entirely not enough, especially when you are number 300 for the new releases. Thank you.
Sarah - Philadelphia, PA
Monday, June 22, 2015

Hi, You can view latest borrowing limits via the following link http://www.freelibrary.org/registration/loan.htm
PeterSM - Philadelphia
Tuesday, June 23, 2015

On advanced search, is there a way to list a subject that is not on the list? I would like to be able to type in my own Thank you!
el - Philadelphia
Wednesday, June 24, 2015

In advance search you can add individual and group searches and designate that you would like to search by subject. https://know.freelibrary.org/Search/Advanced
PeterSM - Philadelphia
Thursday, June 25, 2015

What happened to the many books/lists I had saved in Overdrive? Can I still access it?
K - Philly
Friday, July 3, 2015

Ooops. Nevermind!
K - Philly
Friday, July 3, 2015

PeterSM mentioned loan limits, but Sarah's question (and now mine) is about hold limits. Peter, unless I missed it, that page link you provided sites not help. To rephrase, why has the Ebook hold limit decreased from 10 and what is the new limit? Why limit the holds at all, as long as borrowing is limited? Holds are a good way to stay in the loop for opportunities to borrow books of interest. Personally, I am down from 10 to 8 holds, and it still won't let me put a hold on a ebook.
Paul - Philadelphia
Sunday, January 23, 2022

Hi Paul, You can view current borrowing limits via the following link: https://catalog.freelibrary.org/MyResearch/register/card The current Overdrive loan period allows checkout of 6 items at a time and 6 items on hold at once. You set your own loan period from 7 to 21 days.
Web Admin - Philadelphia
Sunday, January 23, 2022

Thanks to the web admin for (partially) answering my questions, but as Sarah has also made clear, the issue is policy. Please help me understand why there are limits on the number of holds at all, as long as borrowing is limited? Holds are a good way to stay in the loop for opportunities to borrow books of interest. It is like a shopping list, a way to keep track of your interests and be notified of their availability. At least, a more useableebook hold limit, say 25, would be much more convenient.
Paul - Philadelphia
Monday, January 24, 2022

With all due respect, I see that Sarah's question was posed back in 2015 (and never answered). Hoping that my own, similar question, will not languish without a response for 7+ years, would you please provide a formal answer (from identified decision makers) regarding what appears to me to be a completely arbitrary, inadequate, and unnecessary hold limit. It may have made sense when librarians had paper cards, but (again) a hold list is merely a list (like a shopping list on a website), but having such a limit in a computerized system seems counter-productive. Why have a limit? If a limit, why so low? How about something useful, like 100? Who has responsibility for these decisions in our PUBLIC library? Thanks again for your kind consideration.
Paul L.
Wednesday, February 9, 2022