Knowledge Base: Library Help

Patrons may sign themselves up for a library card online at golibrary.ca or on your library's website, if you have added the eCard Registration Form to your site. For details on what that form does and how to add it, check the FAQ on How to Set Up The eCard Registration Form.

When a patron comes to change their library card to a full-access card, here are the steps to follow.

1. Request to see government-issued ID and use it to pull up their account in Polaris or Leap.
2. Optional: If your library charges for memberships, take payment.
3. Verify the information in Polaris against their ID, including:
   1. Full name, including middle
   2. Birthdate
   3. Address
4. Verify the Where They Live field – keep in mind that if the patron has a P.O. box, their address may not be where they actually live and pay their taxes. This field is important for libraries tracking county vs. town/municipal patrons.
5. Ask for and add their Reading History preference - whether they want their reading history saved. They need to give specific permission for this.
6. Ask for and add their Notification Type - how they want to be notified of holds and overdues.
7. Change their Patron Code from Self-Registered to whatever your library uses for patron codes. This is what gives the patron full access, as the Self-Registered patron code limits them to only e-Resources.
8. Renew their address check field to however long your library gives patron memberships for (usually 1 year from the date they came in).
9. Renew their expiration date to however long your library gives patron memberships for (usually 1 year from the date they came in).
10. Copy their online barcode (it'll start with the letters PACREG, so as to be easily recognizable) into the "Former Barcode" field. Please do not skip this step - if we don't have the PACREG barcode, we will be unable to merge their Libby accounts and the patron will lose any Libby checkouts or holds they may have placed.
11. Give the patron a library card and scan it into the "Barcode" field.
12. Save and exit the workform.
13. Send a ticket to ask@nlls.ab.ca with the patron's name and barcode and request for the patron's Libby accounts to be merged. This will carry over the patron's checkouts and holds from their temporary barcode to their new library card.