If the item you are looking for is not at hand in your library branch, don't give up.   In most cases, you can use a hold request or an interlibrary loan request to get the item delivered to your branch.  You may have a total of three requests at any one time.

Your first step is to check the library's catalog, or check with a librarian, to see if the item is available anywhere in the Humboldt County Library System. 

If you can see that the item you want is in the catalog, and the library has a copy, you can place a free hold request.

If the library system does not own the item, you may place an interlibrary loan request.  The library will borrow the book for you from another library system somewhere in the United States. 

For items such as DVDs, videos, audio books, or music, first check the library catalog to see if we can bring the item you want from another Humboldt County branch.  If the item is not here, you may look for it in the shared North State Cooperative Library System collections (lists are kept at the Reference Desk.)  Available items will be delivered here to the branch where you made your request.  

There is a one-dollar fee for the interlibrary loan service. There is no fee for a hold request or a North State Coop. request.

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You may place a hold request on any item in any branch of the Humboldt County Library, except for Reference materials; these are "in-library use only." 

You can reserve the item yourself by using the online catalog, or ask a Reference Librarian to place your hold.  

You will need your library card.

You may have a total of three holds at any time.  

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How to place your own hold request :

1. Search the catalog and find the item you want.  Make sure you are looking at the page that shows the location and status of the item.

          TIP:  if you do not see LOCATION, CALL #, and STATUS, click any word of the title. 

2. Click on the blue "Request this Item" button – found at the top and bottom of the screen.  

3. Enter your name and library card number in the spaces provided.. 

You will receive a notice when your requested item becomes available for pickup. You may check the status of your hold request by viewing your record. 

Normally you will receive a postcard notice in the mail. If you prefer, you may receive your hold notices and other library communications via e-mail. Please check with library staff for more information.

If you experience any difficulty in placing a hold, please contact library staff.

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If the material you want is not available in the Humboldt County Library, you may visit the reference desk to request it through Interlibrary Loan.  

Through this service, the Humboldt County Library borrows materials from other libraries on your behalf.  Because these items come from other library systems, they may take some time to arrive, generally from one week to a month.  For difficult items it may take longer.

The library that owns the item has the discretion to set the due date, limit rental or specify in-library use only. 

Any request for renewal should be made 2-3 days in advance of the due date.

New materials less than 6 months old are not available through interlibrary loan.  Instead, you may fill out a purchase suggestion form if you wish the library to consider buying an item.  It may be possible to get materials that are six to twelve months old on interlibrary loan, but not all libraries will loan these new items.

A $1.00 non-refundable fee must accompany each loan request. 

To request materials through interlibrary loan, please see Reference/Information staff.

Because an interlibrary loan request can take time to arrive, be sure to let us know if your request should be cancelled by a certain date. 

Materials such as entire issues of magazines, rare or valuable books, reference books, genealogy or microforms can be difficult to borrow.

If you are requesting photocopies, or a hard-to-get item, you should be aware that many libraries charge borrowing and/or photocopy fees. For your convenience, please indicate on the form how much you would be willing to pay for the materials you are requesting. 

We will make every effort to borrow from libraries that do not charge. When this is not possible and with your prior agreement, we will borrow from libraries that charge a fee.  Any charges you have chosen to incur must be paid before checking out the material.

You may have a total of three holds at any time.  

Audio or Video Material:  Tapes, CDs, Videos and DVDs

Check first to see if the material is available at a branch in Humboldt County.  Use the online catalog and search by title if you know the title.  If the item you want is in our system, follow the directions above that tell you how to place a hold request on items you can see in the catalog.

Audio:  If they are not available at Humboldt, Audio Books on CD, Playaways (digital audio books that arrive with their own tiny player), and Music on CD may be borrowed from the Listen-In collection at Plumas Library.  There is no fee to borrow items from that collection, but it may take them longer to get here -- perhaps a week or so.  You may ask the reference librarian to have these items brought here for you.  

Video and DVD: If you can't find them in the Humboldt County catalog, additional movies are available from the shared NSCLS collection housed at Orland Public Library.   There is no fee to borrow these items, but it may take them a while to get here, perhaps a week or so if the item is not checked out.