Focus on Polaris--Personal Check Out History

One of the most frequent questions asked at the desk is "Do you have any way of telling me if I've already checked this out?". For years, the answer has been no, but with our new library system, the answer is finally yes!

If you are interested in the library keeping a list of books or movies that you have checked out, there are two ways you can get on board. First, you can tell one of the library staff members that you would like to have your "Reading History" turned on and we can do this for you. We can take a request to have this feature activated in person or by telephone. Second, if you are more of a do-it-yourselfer, you can log into the My Account area in the library catalog and turn it on yourself. After you have logged into your account with the last 6 digits of your library card number and your PIN, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "Change Preferences" bar. In the middle of the next page you will see where you can check a box next to the statement "Maintain permanent reading list". Check this, click on "submit" and you are in business.


Once you are signed up, the system will keep a list of everything you check out starting on the day after you sign up. It takes one business day for items that are currently checked out to show on your list. Nothing checked out prior to activating your Reading History will be on this list. If at any time you decide to quit using Reading History, the system will delete your list immediately. If you reactivate the service at some time later, you will not be able to get your previous list back.


You also should be aware that this list is personal information. Only you and authorized library staff have access to this information. However, the U.S. PATRIOT act does allow for a patron's reading history to be subpeonaed in certain circumstances, and in that case, the library could be required to turn over this list to a court of law. (It is highly unlikely that any of our patrons would ever find themselves in a situation where we would have to comply with the U.S. PATRIOT act, but we have to make sure our patrons know it's a possibility.)