June 9, 2023:

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Big changes are coming soon to your online experience

 

The Beaufort County Library’s online catalog, SCLENDS, will soon have a whole new look. The process will begin June 12 and continue through the end of the month.

 

What does this mean?

New software will power the SCLENDS catalog. The catalog (sclends.org) is what you use to search for books, place holds, and manage your account. For library staff, it’s what we use to locate and manage all materials and library accounts. It’s a pretty big deal.

 

How this will affect you, our loyal customers

Brace yourself! There may be days, especially June 19 - 25, when your access to the catalog and library account will be unavailable. We understand that this may be frustrating for you, and honestly, it will be for us too. 

 

How this will affect us, your favorite library crew

Everything is fine! [Hits panic button] Just kidding. We’ve been training for this. Inevitably, there will be snags along the way. We’ll be open during this time, and we ask that you bear with us as we get real-time experience with the new system. 

 

When it’s all said and done

By the end of the month, things are going to look different when you search the catalog, place holds, and log in to your library account. We are all learning together, and our library staff is here to help!

 

But wait - there’s more!

We are happy to announce that this change brings with it a new, bona fide, SCLENDS app! We’ll share more details on this exciting addition in the weeks ahead. 

 

Oh, and one more thing

We might just accidentally-on-purpose leave behind any old fines that you had on your account. It’s time for a clean slate! (Caveat - if your account is currently accruing fines or has a fee for a lost item, those will carry over to the new system.)

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Expectations for June 19 - 23

If you plan to visit our branches the week of June 19 - 23, please anticipate the following:

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• The catalog will effectively be down

• You must present your library card to borrow items (we will be unable to look up your account with ID)

• There will be a borrowing limit of 5 items per library card

• Holds will not be delivered from other libraries this week (but you can pick up an existing hold)

• Automated book drops will be closed

• Your “My Account” PIN/password will no longer be valid (see below)

• Email notices about holds ready for pick up, overdue items, and auto-renewals will be down

 

PIN/password

Your current PIN#/password will no longer be valid. It will change to the last 4 digits of your phone number. If no phone number is on record, or you're having trouble logging in, click on "Forgot Password" within the new catalog to receive an email with reset instructions. We encourage you to change your password once you have accessed your account through the new system.

 

Email Notifications

Please note that there will be a temporary outage of the email notifications that let you know your hold is available, when an item is overdue, or when your items have auto-renewed. We encourage you to log in to the new system when it's available to check on your held or borrowed items.

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Text Notifications

Once the transition to the new catalog is complete, it will continue to send email notifications as a way to alert you about your borrowed items and items on hold. One feature we will lose, however, is the ability to text you these same notifications. 

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FAQs

 

Will my holds transfer?

Yes! Your existing holds will transfer to the new online system.

  

Will the library be open?

We will be! The usual tools that we use to locate items or place holds may be temporarily unavailable to us, but we’re ready to help.

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Will hoopla be affected?

Users should experience minimal-to-no disruption of service. However, as these things go, it may be best to download your book to your device (prior to June 18) to ensure you can keep on reading.

   

Can I still sign up for a library card during this time?

Definitely! It will be paper-based for the time being, but we’ll get you into the new system as soon as it’s ready. With your new card, you’ll be able to borrow items (limited to 5 items during the week of June 19-23).

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I don’t see the new book I want. Are you adding new ones?

During the transition, we can’t add new books. Rest assured we are accumulating new books and they’ll be added as soon as we get the all-clear.