Can I save reminders of books I want to request in the future from session to session?

Using My Account, you can not only view the due dates for your items, any fines attached to your items, requested items (holds) but also renew items, request or cancel items, and update your email address.

You can now set up your own username for logging into your library account.

1. 1. Log in to My Account as before, using your library barcode
   
   
   
2. 2. Choose "Modify Personal Info"
   
   
   
3. 3. Enter a username of your choice and click "Submit"
   
   
   
4. 4. Close the window when prompted
   

The next time you log in, you will be able to use your new username along with your PIN.

If you forget your username, you can still log in with your library barcode. Once in My Account, you can go back to Modify Personal Information to view and/or change your username.

NOTE: The system will not allow you to select a username that is already in use.

A Personal Identification Number (PIN) is a unique identifier (consisting of 3-30 numbers and/or letters) created by you. Your PIN allows you to access your patron record and place requests.

The system will prevent the creation of PINs that are not complex enough to be secure; a PIN is considered not complex enough if it contains:

• a character that is repeated 3 or more times (aaa, aaaa...).
• a set of 2, 3, or 4 characters is that is repeated 2 or more times (abab, abcabc, abcdabcd...).

There are a few possibilities.

In brief:

• There is no Email address in your patron record
• There is an Email address, but you didn't execute the reset steps within 3 hours of initiating the process
• When you clicked on the (long) URL in the Email message, it was cut off so that only a portion of the URL was sent to the browser.

For more details continue reading.

The PIN reset function only works if you have an Email address in your patron record. The reset function works by sending you an Email that will give you an opportunity to reset your PIN. If there is no Email address in your record, contact staff at your library to enter your Email address.

If you DO have an Email address, when you click on "Forgot your PIN", you will be prompted to enter your library card number.

You will then see the following message:

"A message has been sent to the email address we have on record for you. Please follow the instructions in that message to reset your PIN. If you do not receive an email, please contact your librarian for assistance."

Now check your Email for instructions to complete the reset process.

The resulting Email will look like this:

"The library received a request to allow you to reset your Personal Identification Number (PIN) used to log in. If you did not place that request, please ignore this message. Your PIN has not changed. Otherwise, please click the link below to choose a new PIN.
https://library.minlib.net/pinreset~S1?info=1efd0ff04c4e26668bb3ee1cdba041d59bf7f302a0565e9356c0de23fcee87c1baede6b6eecb6a2a

This link is valid for 3 hours from the time of your request."

The most common problem is that the long URL (web address) is not kept intact if it is displayed on more than one line.

When you click on the link, your email may not keep the entire link intact when it sends it to your browser. Some email programs split up long URLs, making it so that you can't click directly from them to a browser.

In the example above, highlight the entire URL and copy it into your browser.
(In the above example the URL begins with "https://" and ends with "b6a2a".)

To do so, and to make sure you get the entire URL, you need to copy the URL (use your mouse to highlight, then use Ctrl-C on your keyboard to copy). Then paste (keyboard shortcut - Ctrl-V) it to the URL address bar of your browser. Spot check the URL to make sure the entire string was copied and pasted.

Go to My Account and select Modify Personal Information. Select you pickup location under "Choose your default pickup location" and click Submit.

Library card registrations periodically expire so that library staff can be sure that information such as your mailing address, email address and phone number are up-to-date.

If your library card account has expired, contact your local Minuteman library to update your account. Once you have verified your contact information, staff will update your expiration date.

Renew online by going to My Account. You will need to enter your library card number and PIN. If you don't have a PIN, leave the field blank and you will be prompted to create one.

The catalog displays your patron record information.

Click on the link Item(s) Currently Checked Out. The catalog displays the items that you have currently checked out. To renew everything on your account click on the button Renew All. To renew selected items on your account, click the check box to the left of the items you want to renew. Click on the Renew Selected Items button. Check for a confirmation message and the new due date(s).

The catalog will not renew items under the following conditions:

• a request (hold) is outstanding for another user.
• renewal limit is exceeded-varies by library location and material (e.g. videos, new books, etc.).
• $5.00 fine threshold is met.
• Your patron record has reached its expiration date. You need to contact any Minuteman library to extend the life of your card

Staff at any Minuteman library can assist you with your account.

If the item was returned recently, please allow a few days before contacting the library. After that time, contact the library where you returned the item and let them know that you believe you have returned an item that is still on your account. Ask the library where you returned the items to do a shelf check for the item. If the item is not on the shelf at the library where you returned it, you will need to contact the library that owns the item. That library can also check their shelves for the item you returned. Only the library that owns the item can resolve the issue on your account.

When your library account was updated with a new barcode number, that new barcode became functional immediately.

Your Internet Browser may have been set up to remember passwords for sites you regularly visit. If you type your name and your computer automatically inserts a string of numbers (ex: 21234567890123) in the "Library Card #" box, this is most likely what’s happening. To fix this problem, just highlight the incorrect numbers and type in your new barcode number. Your browser will ask you if you want it to associate this new password with the page you are visiting. Just say "yes" to this question box, and you should have no problem viewing your record. The next time you try to log in to your account, your browser will automatically enter the new barcode number for you.

You can renew your library card registration by contacting any Minuteman library and asking to extend your registration. Staff will confirm your contact information and extend your registration.

Select the "View My Account" link, which is available at the top, right of the screen when you are logged in to My Account.

This system does not calculate the eligibility for renewal when you view your checked out items. You must actually renew your items to see which ones can be renewed. Many more items are eligible for renewal online in comparison to our previous system. We have sent this in to our catalog software vendor as an enhancement for a future release.

Those 2 features in My Account do not work when Internet Explorer's Content Advisor is enabled. Our catalog software company recommends turning off the Content Advisor in order to use these 2 functions. To disable Content Advisor, select Internet Options from the Tools menu. Click on the Content tab. Under the Content Advisor section click the Disable button. Click Ok to save the settings. Restart Internet Explorer.

AOL users who use the AOL browser may receive a "566 Response HTTP Version Unsupported" error. AOL's web browser is known to have difficulties with My Account. We suggest using AOL to connect to the Internet and then opening another web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox to search the catalog and use the My Account function.

Walmart's web browser is known to have difficulties with My Account. We suggest using Walmart to connect to the Internet and then opening another web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox to search the catalog and use the My Account function.

The words "Ready. Pick up by xx-xx-xx" in the status column tell you that your request is ready.

If the Status column in the My Account Holds display says:

• Ready for Pickup - the hold is ready for pickup for a different patron
  
• Ready. Must pick up by xx-xx-xx - the hold is ready for pickup for the patron viewing his account.
  

Any other status, or the lack of a status, means that your item is not yet ready for you to pick up. Copies may still be at the owning library, a copy may be In Transit between libraries, or all of the copies may be currently unavailable to fill requests.

Because of a bug in the system if you see only the status "READY FOR PICKUP" your item may not be available at the library. Please call the library you pick up at to verify that the item is there for you.

The most probable cause of older data displaying when you are at home is that your browser settings are such that cached (saved) data is being displayed.

The solution is to clear the cache in your browser.

To delete temporary internet files in IE:

Click on "View", "Internet Options", under the General tab in the Temporary Internet Files section, click on "Delete Files." It will ask you if you want to delete all temporary files to which you would answer "Yes." Also make sure you check the box that says "Delete all offline content." Note that you can remove cookies at this point (subscription content) but this is not recommended, so leave that option unchecked.

Emptying cache (temporary Internet files) in Netscape Communicator:

Click on "Edit", "Preferences" and double-click "Advanced." Click once on "Cache" and from the right side of the window select "Clear Disk Cache." It will confirm that you want to remove all the files in your disk cache to which you answer "Yes."

Emptying cache (temporary Internet files) in Mozilla Firefox:

Click on "Tools", "Options." Click on the "Privacy" category. Scroll down to the bottom and click on "Clear" to the right of the Cache subcategory.

In order to function correctly the "My Account" feature requires that you have JavaScript enabled in your browser. The following instructions describe how to set JavaScript options for some common browsers:

Mozilla Open Mozilla. Select Preferences from the Edit menu. Click the arrow next to Advanced. Click Scripts & Plugins. Check Navigator beneath "Enable Javascript for". Click OK. Click Reload.	Firefox Open Firefox Select Options from the Tools menu. Click the Web Features tab at the right Check the box next to "Enable JavaScript" Click OK Click Reload.
Internet Explorer 6.X Open Internet Explorer. Select Internet Options from the Tools menu. In Internet Options dialog box select the Security tab. Click Custom level button at bottom. The Security settings dialog box will pop up. Under Scripting category enable Active Scripting, Allow paste options via script and Scripting of Java applets Click OK twice to close out. Hit Refresh.	Netscape 7.X Open Netscape. Select Preferences from the Edit menu. Click the arrow next to Advanced. Click Scripts & Plugins. Check Navigator beneath "Enable Javascript for". Click OK. Click Reload.

Yes, as of March 2, 2006 the dialog with the Minuteman system under "My Account" is a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connection. Your "My Account" data is encrypted and transmitted securely between our server and your computer.

NOTE: If you had set up your browser to auto-complete your barcode prior to this date, you may need to re-enter the barcode once again to have it remembered by your browser.

Remembering usernames and passwords is a feature of the browser software and not of the MLN web site.

Please check the following:

• Be sure that the IE AutoComplete feature is enabled. The most important part to make sure about is that the "Prompt me to save passwords" box is checked. If this was not checked when you re-entered your library card number (after the addition of our SSL certificate) then your browser has not yet been able to save your information. If you do not know how to access the autocomplete feature in Internet Explorer please write us back and we will be happy to provide instruction.


• We have found that some users have saved their library card number and PIN, but can not see the information when they first come to our web page. To see the information that IE has saved you need to click or type "2" in the Library card # box. Your library card number will appear in the box, or in a drop down box just below the empty field.


• It is possible that at some point someone on your computer said "No" to the "Remember my password" prompt for this page (the new page). In this case you may need to go to the Autocomplete feature and clear all saved form and password information as IE will no longer ask you again about saving a password on this page. This is a feature of the IE software and not something that we have control over. DISCLAIMER: Please note that clearing your form and password information will clear it for ALL WEBSITES and not just for our library catalog.

You need to enable Internet Explorer to use SSL.

Go to: Tools --> Internet Options --> Advanced

In the Advanced tab, scroll down to the security settings.

Be sure that you have check marks next to the following:
Use SSL 2.0
Use SSL 3.0
Use TLS 1.0

Yes, beginning on November 1, 2007 you can pay your library fines online using a credit card.

Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Switch and Solo.

The credit card statement will list "Minuteman" as the vendor. However, if your payment is pending you may see the transaction listed as PayPal until the transaction has been processed by your credit card company.

Yes. The credit card payment is done using a secure (SSL – Secure Socket Layer) connection. The Minuteman Library Network does not store any credit card data.

Once your payment is accepted, you will see a confirmation screen that you can print as your receipt. If you have provided an Email address, you will also receive an Email receipt as well.

If for any reason your payment is not accepted, you can visit your Minuteman library to pay your fines.

Yes, you can use the My Lists feature to save items to your Account for later access.

You can also use the My Lists feature for:

• Titles you want to request in the future
• Titles you wish to read or view or listen to in the future
• Titles on a topic of interest
• Titles for a class project
• Other ideas...

 Both Bags and Lists are used to collect lists of titles that can be requested, printed, e-mailed, or saved to one's account for later reference.


 A "Bag" is temporary and exists only during a given session. Once you navigate away from the Minuteman website the contents of your Bag will disappear.

 "Lists" are saved to a patron’s account for as long as desired. These Lists can be accessed whenever a patron logs in to My Account. Multiple Lists can be maintained in a patron's account.

If you know you will want to save multiple titles to a list during your session, it may be quicker to save your titles to a session Bag, and then save all of the titles in the Bag to a list.

1. Log in to "My Account".
2. Search for the item(s) you are interested in.
3. For each title you want to save, click on "Add to Bag".
4. To view the list of titles in the Bag, click on "View Bag".
5. Click "Save to My Lists" Note: All items listed in your Bag (checked or unchecked) will be saved to your list.
6. From the drop-down menu, choose an existing list or Create a new list.
7. Click Submit. A confirmation message will appear in red.
8. Click "Empty Bag" or the "Back" button to return to your search results.

When in the "View My Account" mode, click on "My Lists" in the top, right navigation section.


Click on the name of the List you wish to view.


When viewing the contents of a List you have the following options options:

• Export the list to E-Mail, Screen, or Local Disk, in brief or full format
• Place a Request on a title
• Change name or description of a List
• Go back to My Lists