New Partnerships for Library Resources

Our library is constantly seeking new partnerships for library resources, working together with other organizations to better serve our public.

Our county library system has entered into a new resource-sharing agreement that gives YOU, the reader, more options for placing holds on books in our online catalog. Starting this month, you have the option to place holds yourself, directly in the online catalog for books from libraries in Bedford County, and they will be delivered for pick-up here at our Meyersdale Public Library.

Up until now, our online catalog only allowed books to be placed on hold by patrons if they were owned by libraries in our Somerset County Federated Library System (our library, Windber, and the County Library and its Conemaugh Township branch and Bookmobile). Books in other libraries had to be ordered in by staff members. Now you can log into your library account and search for and place holds on books owned by both Bedford and Somerset Counties.

When you search for books in our online catalog, the default search will be your home library -- if your card is from Meyersdale, it will search our library. If you want to search the two counties, you need to click on the dropdown menu for "Library" and scroll all the way up to the top of the list, where it says Library Groups, and below it, click "Bedford-Somerset."

This will enable you to see books from both counties. This may be especially helpful for those doing research, or for those simply looking for a book our county libraries lack.

Of course, to reserve books, you must first log into your library account. From our home page, you can either click "Find Books and DVDs" on the website menu, then click "My Account" in the upper right-hand corner, or click "My Account" in the website menu and then "My Account" in the upper right. (Yes, I know, that's kind of redundant!) Once you are in the page to search for items, "My Account" is always an option in the upper right-hand corner.

Logging in requires your library card number and Personal Identification Number (PIN). If you don't know your PIN number, try the last four digits of the phone number you used when you made your account -- if that doesn't work, contact us for help.

If you "don't do computers" or just find this confusing, relax. You may still ask library staff members to find and reserve books from both counties, as well as to request books from the state-wide library loan system, which is still available.