DID YOU KNOW… When you visit the Bienville Parish Library website, www.bienvillelibrary.org there is quite a bit you can do even before your next visit to your neighborhood Bienville Parish Library! At the top of the page is a set of icons called: QUICK LINKS, My Account is the second icon and where our quick overview tour is taking you today!

1) Click the MY ACCOUNT icon and Log-in. The first text box is where you’ll enter your 14-digit library card barcode number, and your password, (first 4-digits of your birthday).

2) ITEMS OUT – To the right is a column where you can check to see what items you have still checked out. This section is especially good when you have a lot of children’s books checked out. You can check your “items out” list and gather up everything before your next library visit!

3) FINES AND FEES – Think you might have overdue fines? Check here and see and when you come into your library you can arrange to clear your account – if you have lingering fines it can prevent you from borrowing from the online services like Hoopla or Overdrive/Libby!

4) READING HISTORY – Can’t remember if you’ve read it? This section lets you quickly scan your reading history. Click the columns and place everything in the date order you checked it out or list in alphabetical by author or title. If you visit more than one library in the system, it will also indicate which library you used.

5) SAVED SEARCHES – If you have searched for a certain author you might want to try at a later date, or if you’re thinking about trying something totally new, you can save those searches. By saving an “item search” you can select books, audio-books, eBooks, even DVDs that you might want to transfer into your reading/materials lists.

6) MY LISTS – We all go through cycles of reading, one month we’re reading mysteries, and the next month we’re reading historical romances. You can create different books lists and save them so that when you’re ready for a mystery or a romance, you can check your lists and see what’s next. You can check the availability and call and ask for it to be placed on hold for you or if you’re reading a series – all of the series titles will be on one list that you can refer back to. The great thing about building a reading list is – if a title is unavailable, the image of the book or title be “grayed” out. This lets you know the BPL system does not have this particular title. Now you can put in a request through Interlibrary Loans (ILL,) and order the title from other libraries in the state, or from anywhere in the world!

Next time, we’ll go through building an ITEM LIST and then let your favorite Bienville Parish Librarian help you find your next great read! If you need more information or need help accessing your BPL Account, give them a call, or ask them when you visit about how to use your BPL Account to your maximum benefit! See YOU at the Library!

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