The Wells Public Library is part of the MINERVA consortium of libraries. This allows patrons with a valid Wells Public Library card to search and request items from the Wells Public Library or other MINERVA libraries using their own computer, or one at the library.
Items borrowed from other libraries are sent to the Wells Public Library when they are available, and if the item is available at our library it will be held for you to pick up.
When the book or other material is available for you to pick up, you will be contacted by email or phone to notify you of it's arrival.
Items are held for a period of 5 days and if they are not picked up will be returned to the lending library.
There is a 10 item request limit per library card. Once an item is checked out, you will be allowed another request.
You must bring the library card that was used to place the request when you come to pick up the item.
This is a free service provided to our library patrons, and we are glad to offer it. It has become one of the most popular services we offer here at the library. This service effectively allows us to expand our collection from 43,000 items in Wells to over 6 million items in participating Maine Libraries!
Use the instructions below to learn how to search for and request Items from MINERVA. If you cannot find the item you want in MINERVA, you may find it in MaineCat, which is another system that Wells Public Library patrons may utilize.
If you need assistance, you may visit or call the library at 646-8181 ext. 205.
Instructions for searching for and requesting items through Minerva
2.
Click
on Search our MINERVA Catalog from the blue section on the left of the screen.
3.
You
will see a screen like the one below:
Type of search
Enter search terms
Select Library
4.
Select
the way you would like to search (e.g. title, author, subject, keyword, etc.)
by using the drop down arrow under the heading Type of Search located on the left side.
5.
In
the box below the words Enter Search
Terms, type a title, author, subject or keyword (e.g. Secret Life
of Bees for a title, Grisham, John for an author, gardening for a subject or Wells for a keyword). If
the subject is a person, enter last name first.
6.
UnderSelect Library use the drop
down arrow to select Wells Public
Library, if you would like to find an item owned by our library, or All MINERVA Locations (at the top of
the list) if you would like to search All Minerva Locations simultaneously.
7.
Click
on the Go button to the right
of the Select Library box.
8.
Results
will be displayed. If the item is not
located, you will see the message "no matches found”. * However, a librarian may be able to help you
locate the item.
9.
If a match is found you will see the title(s) displayed
in a list. In a subject search, list of
subject headings appear first. Click on
the appropriate subject then a list of titles appears.
10. You must select the
item you want by clicking on the underlined title.
11. Please Note: Media type (e.g. book, CD, cassette, DVD, or eBook) is depicted with an image on the right side of
the item. In addition, special items
such as Sound Recordings, Large Print or Video Recordings will display that
description within the title.
12. Once you have
selected an item by clicking on the title you will see a table like this one:
The library that
owns the item is listed on the left under Location.
The Call
Number is listed in the middle column.
This will tell you where to locate the item in the library.
The Status of the item is listed in the right column.
§
If
it is available you may locate the item on the shelf, or request it online.
§
If
it is checked out, or on hold for another patron, you may request a copy be
saved for you when one is available.
How to Request Items
Select your item by
following steps 1-12 then continue with steps 13-18 below.
1.
Click
on the Request button near
the top on the left side of the screen.
2.
Type
your full name. For example "John Doe.”
3.
Type
your 14 digit Wells Public Library barcode.
Don’t type spaces.
4.
Click
the Submit button.
5.
If
your request was accepted, you will see a message like the one below:
Your request for The Secret Life of Bees
/ Sue Monk Kidd. was successful.
Your request will be
delivered to Wells
Public Library when it is available.
6.
You’ll
be contacted when the item arrives. You’ll have 5 business days to pick up the item. Requested items can only be checked out
using the library card that placed the request.
Request Policies
There
is a limit of 10 requests per card at one time.
