Search our collection

Looking for a particular item? With millions of items available, the first step is to search our collection.

Search basics

• If you're looking for an item online, your first stop is the search box at the top of every page
• The default search looks for keywords but you can choose other options, for example author or title
• If you have a very specific kind of search in mind, you can also try advanced search

If you're having trouble or maybe searching online is not your thing, ask a staff member at any of our locations—in person or over the phone—or send us a message online. We can help.

We hope you can find what you're looking for, but it may have been borrowed by someone else. Or, it may be so new that we’re still waiting for it to arrive!

Place a hold

If the item you are looking for is checked out or not yet available, you can place a ‘hold’ on the item:

• The holds feature works like a ‘first-come, first-served’ waiting list
• You can request that your holds be sent to any of our locations
• To change the pick-up location for an existing hold, visit any of our locations in person. Our staff can do this for you—make sure to have your library card handy
• We'll let you know when your hold is ready for pick-up

You can also pause your holds—it's like getting a friend to hold your place in line. Once you turn your hold back on, you will get your hold as if you never left the line. This is helpful if you're going away or are too busy to come pick your item up.

How long it takes to get your hold depends on how many people have placed a hold before you, how many of the item we have in our collection, and whether the item is returned on time and in good condition.

You can get a sense of how long it will take to get a particular item from the number of copies we have and the number of holds—you can get this information from the item record in our catalogue.

To place a hold, you can:

• Log in to your account on our website then click 'Place a Hold' on the item you'd like to borrow
• Visit or call any of our locations

Still can't find what you're looking for?

If we don’t have the item that you’re looking for, you still have options:

• You may be able to borrow the item from another library
• You can suggest that we purchase the item