The Catalog
The first resource that any library has is its books, the catalog is the way to find them. Here at the Walker Memorial Library our catalog lets you do more than just find our books, it also lets you find books in over 85 libraries in the state! You can even have their books sent here for you, and all for free! But let’s not rush ahead of ourselves, let’s start with the basics.
One of the wonderful parts of the Minerva library network is that it allows your local library to bring you all the books and movies from tons of other libraries. It’s as easy as looking stuff up on our catalog, as long as you have your Library Card handy. You can even do it right from your home computer and only come in when you have stuff to pick up!
To start, all you need to do is look the item up in the Library Catalog. Once you’ve found the item you’d like to request, click on it.
At the top of the screen you should find a button marked “Request” among the top button bar, just as pictured below:
When you click on this button, you have to enter your name and library card #. (The whole number on the back of your card, without spaces). Once you have clicked the “Submit” button, your can relax and we’ll do the rest!
As soon as your request arrives at the library (Usually within a few days), we’ll let you know by phone or email. We’ll even hold the request behind our front desk for up to 10 days so that you can come and pick it up whenever it’s easy for you!
Further Requests
If the item you want isn’t available to request don’t give up hope just yet! There’s more steps we can take to help get you that same item. One of the buttons near your search results should read “Search MaineCat” MaineCat is another catalog that can search even more libraries in the state, even those not part of the Minerva Network.
The way to request from MaineCat is very similar, only look for a blue link that reads: “REQUEST THIS ITEM” instead of a button to make the request.
Lastly, if Minerva and Mainecat don’t have what you’re looking for, talk to the Librarian in our Adult Services area on the second floor about submitting an Interlibrary Loan Request (ILL). ILL’s will search libraries all over the country, and sometimes all over the world! Some ILL’s can take longer than Minerva and Mainecat since it may be coming from a lot further away, so try this way last.
