Kansas City, Kansas Public Library Catalog

Account

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Miscellaneous

How do I view my account?

  1. Type your Library card number and birthdate/PIN in the upper right corner of the screen. Your birth date should be in the format mmddyyyy. For example, if your birth date is July 9, 1954, enter 07091954.
  2. Click on the "Login to iBistro" button.
  3. Click on My Account in the top blue banner.
  4. Click on "Review My Account."
  5. See the checkouts on your account, items overdue, fines, items on hold, and comments.
  6. Remember to log out when you are done using your account to protect your account security. Select the Logout or Exit navigation button.

NOTE: You will only see the conditions that currently exist for your account. For example: If you have nothing checked out, that section will not appear.

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How do I renew items on my account?

  1. Type your Library card number and birthdate/PIN in the upper right corner of the screen. Your birth date should be in the format mmddyyyy. For example, if your birth date is July 9, 1954, enter 07091954.
  2. Click on the "Login to iBistro" button.
  3. Click on My Account in the top blue banner.
  4. Click on "Renew My Materials."
  5. Renew individual items or all items.
  6. Remember to log out when you are done using your account to protect your account security. Select the Logout or Exit navigation button.

NOTE: If another patron has a hold on an item you have checked out, you will not be able to renew it. Some materials, such as feature videos and DVDs are not eligible for renewal. Other library materials can be renewed 2 times.

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What if I cannot login to my account?

Please call any KCKPL branch for assistance. If your birth-date is not correctly entered in our patron records, you will not be able to login.

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How do I place a hold?

  1. Type your library card number and birthdate/PIN in the upper right corner of the screen.
  2. Conduct your search.
  3. If you want to place a hold on a specific magazine issue, the newest issue of a title that comes every year, or a particular volume of a multi-volume set, please call the library and ask us to place the hold for you. Our system does not allow patrons to place this kind of hold.
  4. Remember to log out when you are done using your account to protect your account security.

If your search results in one match, you will see a “Full View from Catalog” screen.

  1. On the left side of the screen, underneath the book jacket picture and the word "Keep", click on the command called "Place Hold".
  2. A screen will appear asking you to select a pick-up location from the drop down menu. Select the name of the Library branch where you would like to pick up the item.
  3. Click on the “Place Hold” button.
  4. You will receive confirmation that your hold has been placed.

If your search results in more than one match, first select a title by clicking on “Details” on the left side of the screen. Then follow the steps in number 2 above.

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Why am I having trouble placing holds?

If you have difficulty placing holds, please call the library - we'll be happy to place holds for you.

NOTE: KCKPL patrons may not place holds on items owned by USD500 school libraries, Bishop Ward, or on Donnelly College AV items.

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What is my position in the holds queue?

The message "Your position in the holds queue:1" means that you are the next person in line to receive an available copy of that book. Once your copy arrives at your designated pickup Library branch, you will receive a notice or a phone call to alert you that it is waiting for you. The display in "My Account" will also change to "AVAILABLE FOR PICKUP AT ____".

The speed at which your request moves up the holds queue is dependent on many things, including how many copies are owned by the Kansas City, Kansas Public Library and how soon copies currently checked out are returned by other patrons. If the Library owns only a few copies of the book and they are all checked out, it could take some time for your copy to become available even if you are in the number 1 position.

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How do I cancel a hold?

  1. Type in your Library card number and birthdate/PIN in the upper right corner of the screen.
  2. Click on the "Login to iBistro" button.
  3. Click on My Account in the top blue banner.
  4. Click on "Review My Account."
  5. Scroll to the "Holds" section.
  6. Select the hold or holds to cancel by clicking in the check boxes to the left of the title.
  7. Click on the "Cancel selected holds" button.
  8. You will receive a confirmation message that the hold has been cancelled.

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What does "Privilege has expired" mean when I try to place a hold or renew items?

This message means that your library card has expired. You will need to renew your library card by calling or visiting the library. We will ask you to confirm your address and telephone number when you renew your card.

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Why do I receive the message "Charged, Loan period shortened to user privilege expiration date."?

This message indicates that your library card will expire before the end of the three-week loan period. Therefore, the due date is automatically adjusted. You will need to renew your library card as soon as possible. After your card is renewed, staff can adjust the due dates to a full three weeks for the items you renewed.

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Can I use Boolean operators in catalog searches?

Boolean operators, such as NOT to exclude or AND to include concepts, can be used. You may also use Power Search to build a complex search. If a Boolean operator such as "AND" or "NOT" is one of the words in a title, you may get strange results when you search. To get the most reliable results, use quotation marks rather than relying on Boolean operators. For example: "death be not proud" produces better results than death be not proud.

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How do I search for a particular medium, such as books on CD?

  1. On the Search Home screen, click on "Power Search".
  2. Type in your search.
  3. Scroll down to "Material Type."
  4. Click on the down arrow beside "Material Type."
  5. Click on the type you want, which will then be highlighted.
  6. Click anywhere outside the Material Type box to lock in your choice.
  7. Click on the "Search" button, which is about halfway up the page.

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What is "Keep"?

The command "Keep" with allows you to create a list of titles which you can print, save, or e-mail. To access the list of items you want to keep, click on the command "Kept" and follow the instructions. To delete an item from you "Kept" list, click on the command "Remove".

NOTE: "Keep" is not the same thing as place a hold.

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What does Session Timeout mean?

If you haven't used the keyboard for fifteen minutes, your iBistro session will timeout.

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Does JavaScript have to be enabled to use iBistro?

Yes. iBistro relies on JavaScript to work properly. Very old versions of browsers, such as Netscape 4 will not work.

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What about the software I've installed on my pc which does not allow pop-up advertisements to appear?

Many iBistro features are displayed in pop-up or new windows. Anti-pop-up window software should be disabled to use iBistro.

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Why doesn't the library respond to my messages?

Library staff attempt to respond to all messages from our patrons sent through the iBistro catalog. In order to see our response, you need to login to your patron account and review your account. Message responses are at the bottom of your account page. If you give us an email address, we will email our response to your comments and questions.

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Why can't I email my kept list?

We have not yet enabled the e-mail functionality for our online catalog. We hope to implement this feature in the future, but we do not yet have a date. In the meantime, you can print the kept list and save it as a file. If you are in the library and need help with this feature, please ask our staff.

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