With the exception of eLibraryMN (aka ELM), all of our library services are accessed through your library card.
- Checking out a book? You need your card.
- Putting an item on hold through MNLink? You need your card.
- Accessing an e-book on Overdrive? You need a card.
- Reading an audio book on RBdigital? You guessed it: you need a card.
- Using Plum Creek Library System’s online catalog? Yep. You need your card.
- Exploring any of our Scholastic platforms such as ScienceFlix and BookFlix? Cards definitely required.
Because of this, it is important that you protect your library card and the information in your account in much the same way you safeguard your debit card–password and all.
I can already see some of you scratching your heads, thinking, What is this password?
I once did the same thing. Who needs a password on a library card, and how do I get one? The answer is easy peasy. You need a password if you ever plan on using your library card to access our digital materials. When your card was made, you were told your password by the friendly librarian at the circulation desk. At some point thereafter, you may have changed your password. In fact, you should have changed your password to keep your checkout information safe and to eliminate the possibility that someone else may be using your card to access your library account and all the platforms your card unlocks.
But, if you’re like me, you maybe forgot to reset your password. Or, you immediately reset it, then years went by, and now you finally want to sit down with your kids and poke around on ScienceFlix together. Well, lo and behold, you have forgotten the little protective gem in the ensuing years.
Never fear, you are in full control of your literary info.
- If you don’t know your password, call the library and we will reset your password for you. Don’t worry about us knowing your password, you get to change it the second you get off the phone with us. To do so, follow the next step.
- If you know your current password–which you do, because we just gave it to you, or you are one of the rare rock stars who just memorizes everything easily–you can, and should, change it online through the OPAC (our Online Public Access Catalog) which you can access by clicking here.
Once you’ve gotten into your account, you can do all sorts of things like renew books, put items on hold, and see if you have any fines (hint, you shouldn’t, as we have stopped fines from accruing during COVID to help you get your books back safely without penalizing you in the process). You can also check your reading history, CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD, or request that we update your personal information such as email, phone number, or address. These things are found on the left side bar.
As you can see from the above image, once you are logged into an account, you have access to all the great stuff the library has to offer. This makes it even more important to change your password. Especially since it’s easy to lose or misplace one of your cards.
When I was cleaning out my desk at home, I came across a stray library card. Having four kids and a husband, I had a pretty good chance of guessing the right name. Nope. It belonged to one of my youngest son’s friends. If I had nefarious intentions, I could have accessed all sorts of personal information from that lone card as long as the password had never been changed. It hadn’t.
Which leads us to this post. Please password protect your library card.
keep reading, keep learning~ jody
