Reader Resources

How to Place a Hold for Contact-Free Pickup

  • Search for the desired title in our online library catalog
  • Click on the desired title from the search results list
  • Click on Place a Hold
  • Enter your account information (you can use your library card number and your PIN, which is by default the last four digits of the phone number you provided to us)
  • Select Pickup Location from the drop-down menu (see below)  ↓ 
  • Click Submit Hold
How to place a hold
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Note: Select the library that owns the item as the pickup location:

  • In order to minimize quarantine periods for items and staff contact, the libraries will not be delivering items between locations at this time.
  • If you choose Scotch Plains as the pickup location for a Fanwood item, you will receive an error message, and vice versa.
  • If an item is owned by the Fanwood Library, you must select Fanwood as the pickup location, and arrange for pickup at the Fanwood Library.
  • If you would prefer to see only items available at one particular location, you can set the library location for your search on the left side of the catalog. 

Further instructions on picking up your items.

Tips for browsing the library catalog

  • If you only want to pick items up from one library, you can change All Locations in the left sidebar so you only see titles from your preferred library.
  • Click on Format to narrow your results by item type (book, DVD, Audiobook, etc.)
  • Click on Collections to limit the results to Adult Fiction, Adult Non-Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, etc.
  • Sort by Publication Date if you want to see the newest titles first.
  • If you haven’t already limited your search to one library, in the search results, click View All Locations or All Copies to make sure the title is available at your preferred location.

Looking for your next great book to read? We’re here to help!

Your Favorite Books of 2021

Among print books published in 2021, our most-checked out fiction titles included The Four Winds by Kristen Hannah and John Grisham’s Sooley. Nonfiction fans most frequently borrowed The Code Breaker : Jennifer Doudna, Gene Dditing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson, and Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad.

Get recommendations in your In-box!

Get personalized recommendations

Online tools for book suggestions

  • Booklist Reader is a digital magazine featuring book recommendations for readers and listeners of all ages. Booklist is a book-review magazine that has been published by the American Library Association for over 100 years.
  • Novelist Plus helps you discover books that are similar to ones that you have liked — both fiction and non-fiction. You can also search for books by combinations of theme, writing style, tone, and more. Log in with your library barcode number to access this resource.
  • WhichBook lets you search by mood and emotion, world setting, character and plot, and more.

What is everybody reading now?

See reviews from our Summer Reading submissions and from our Bagels & Books group.

We always enjoy hearing your thoughts about what you’ve been reading–feel free to submit a brief review. With permission we may choose to share it on our social media!

Suggest a Purchase

Use this form to submit a request for the purchase of a newly-published book (print or electronic.)