You may reserve, or place a hold, for yourself online, or you may ask library staff to reserve an item for you in person, on the phone (941-861-1110) or through Ask Us (chat, text or email). You may place up to 20 items on hold at a time.
To place a hold yourself on library items through the catalog, you will need your 14-digit library card number or username and PIN. (If you would like to reserve ebooks, please see this FAQ.)
Log into "My Account" located on the upper right corner of the catalog page with your 14-digit library card number located on the back of your card (use no spaces when typing it in) and PIN.
Then follow these steps:
- Search for the item you would like to reserve in the library catalog.
- Select the type of item you'd like in the correct format: print, large print, audio CD, etc.
- Click the Request button for the item you would like to place on hold. Depending on your results, the button will either be on the right or at the top of the screen.
It looks like this: 
- Choose a Pickup Location from the dropdown list. The list will default to your "home" library.
- Click Submit
- Note the message on the screen to verify the request was successful.
- If successful, you'll see: "Your request for [Title/Author] was successful. You will be able to pick up this material at [Pickup Location] when it is ready."
- If not successful, you'll see "There is a problem with your library record. Please see a librarian." (Unsuccessful requests are often due to having already reached the maximum number of holds allowable, which is 20.) You can give us a call at 941-861-1110 if this happens.
Items with volume numbers
Some of our titles, such as graphic novel series, have collected the separate volume numbers together. In the catalog (and app), the Call Number will be listed followed by a v. and a number.
These items can be requested through the website for our library catalog, and the app will not be able to appropriately process the request.
- On the library catalog, request the item as instructed above. After logging into the catalog, selecting the pickup location and clicking Submit, another menu will appear to select the specific item.
- Then click Request Selected Item.
We can also place a hold for you or help you with these steps. Please call (941) 861-1110 with your library card number and the title of your request handy. We're glad to help!