Online Registration

If you are a Milwaukee County resident and do not already have a library card, you can register online to be a patron of the library system. The link below is for new registrations only. Upon successful completion, you will have the ability to place up to 5 requests for materials. To check out materials, you will need to bring two forms of identification in person to your community library and complete your registration.

Click here to get started!

In-person registration

You can register for a library card at any public library within Milwaukee County. Bring in two forms of ID, one with your legal name and one with your legal name and address to confirm your Milwaukee County residence address. An electronic version of an ID will be accepted but any ID must be current.

From your CountyCat account you can:

• search the catalog,
• modify your personal contact information,
• view holds and checked out items, and, fines.
• set up or refer to your reading history and more

To login, CLICK HERE and enter the barcode number found on the back of your library card (or your username) and your Personal Identification Number (or PIN).

If you do not have a PIN, enter your barcode number and click the "Submit" button. You will be prompted to enter a new PIN and immediately enter your online account.

If you get a message stating "Sorry, the information you submitted was invalid. Please try again", it means there is a PIN on your record already.

If you have an email address on your account, you can reset your PIN. Click on the "Forget Your PIN?" link and enter your email address to use this feature. If you do not have an email address, contact your local library to reset your PIN.

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SETTING UP A USERNAME to USE IN PLACE OF THE BARCODE:You may use a unique username instead of your barcode to log into CountyCat or CountyCat Mobile.  To set this up:

• Log into CountyCat on a web browser and go into your library account.
• Click the Modify Personal Information link or Edit Account button.
• Fill in the field for "Username" and click Submit to save your changes. You may also speak to a librarian who can help you enter this information.

NOTE: If you make use of a username, it will appear on the paper slips used to designate materials ready for pickup at most libraries.

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CountyCat allows you to pay your library fees or fines online with a credit card or PayPal account. You may do this from any location with Internet access. Here are the steps to pay a fine:

• • Log into your account using a barcode or username and PIN.
  • Click Fines/Fees from the menu of tabs on the left.
  • Select Pay Online
• Then select Continue
• Then you will enter into the area for e-payment by credit card or PayPal

Note: You must have at least $1.00's worth of fees or fines to pay online.

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Items checkmarked and placed into your book cart in CountyCat will stay there only until you close your web browser, or after 30 minutes of inactivity. It you want to retain items permanently email the titles in your cart to yourself, or use the My Lists function.

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All returned library materials go into quarantine. The items will be backdated upon checkin to reflect the actual return date.

If materials are still listed on your library record after seven days of you returning them, please contact the library.

Yes. When you create or modify your PIN, the system requires that your PIN:

• • be between 4- 30 characters long
  • consider of any combination of alpha-numeric characters (a-z, 0-9) but not special characters like $%*.

• The PIN should not feature any type of pattern such as characters repeated three or more times (aaaa, ababa, bbbb, etc)
• The PIN should not feature a set of up to four characters that repeat two or more times (abab, abcabc, abcdabcd)

Any PIN not considered complex enough will generate a message:

YOUR PIN IS NOT COMPLEX ENOUGH TO BE SECURE. PLEASE SELECT ANOTHER ONE.

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If you forget your PIN for CountyCat, you can reset it so long as you have an email address in your library account. If you do not have an email in your library record, or if you are unsure, reach out to a librarian at your home library.

Otherwise:

• Go to the CountyCat login page
• click the Forgot your PIN? link near the bottom of the screen
• You will be prompted to enter your library barcode or username and a PIN reset form will go to your email.

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To create a PIN for your library record:

• Enter your library barcode or username in the first text box on the CountyCat login page.
• IMPORTANT: leave the PIN area black and click the Submit button.
• The system will then prompt you to create a new PIN. You will need to confirm your PIN and click the Submit button again.  If successful, you will be taken into your library account where you can manage it.

If you get this error message:

SORRY, THE INFORMATION YOU SUBMITTED WAS INVALID. PLEASE TRY AGAIN.

It means you already have a PIN. In that case, click the Forgot your PIN link to reset your PIN via the email account tied to your library record.

If you do not have an email address in your library account, or if you are unsure, please contact your local library during normal business hours to reset your PIN.

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When editing or setting up a PIN for CountyCat, make sure you enter a minimum of four characters.

The system accepts alpha-numeric characters (a-z, 0-9) but does not accept special characters such as #, *, or !.

The system does not want any type of pattern for a PIN. This means:

• do not enter characters that repeat three or more times (aaaa, ababa, bbbb)
• do not enter a set of up to four characters that repeat two or more times (abab, abcabc, abcdabcd).

If you need more help setting up your PIN, contact your local library.

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After you enter in your search terms in CountyCat, use the facets (or limiters) on the left hand side of the screen under Refine by to narrow a broad topic to the specific item you desire. The checkboxes let you:

• Availability--Limit results to those at the library (for checkout or on the reference shelf) or available online.
• Found In--Limit search results by setting WHERE your search term is found: in the author, title or subject field. This is especially useful when searching the name of a person. If someone has written books under that name, then selecting subject will give you biographies of that author. Selecting the author facet will return books written by that person.
• Format—Limit results by format (DVDs, music CDs, ebooks, etc.)
• Location—Limit your results to a specific library location
• Age - Limit results by age level (adult, child, young adult)
• Language—Limit results to a certain foreign language or translation. You can also eliminate them from your results by selecting English.
• Tag—Check this option to limit and search subjects noted by both librarians and members of the library community, very helpful for broader searching.
• Place—Check this option to filter by the geographic setting of the book or film
• Publish Date—Limit results from a specific time.

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Yes. Materials checked out at a public library in Milwaukee County can be returned to any public library in Milwaukee County.

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During the pandemic, many member libraries have altered what they normally offer for on-site photocopying, faxing, printing, computer access, etc.  The public is asked to consult the Printing, Fax, Photocopying Services page to learn which libraries offer specific services.

Follow these steps to renew items through your CountyCat patron account

• Log into CountyCat using a web browser.  Within the account find Checkouts.
• You'll see a list of all items you currently have checked out.
• If you click the SORT BY CHECKOUT button, the same button will offer the option to SORT BY DUE DATE.
• Click in the boxes to the left of the titles you would like to renew. Then click the Renew Marked button.  NOTE: There is also a button called Renew All to renew all of your checked out items.
• The next screen will offer text asking if you'd like to process. Please click Yes only once. 

  

• The system will display information in RED if/when materials are not able to be renewed. It may be that it's too soon to renew, or you may have reached the limit for times to renew the titles.
  

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All MCFLS libraries offer telephone renewal using phone number, 414-277-0183.

To renew items by phone, you will need to have your library barcode number AND the barcode numbers of the items you would like to renew. As with online renewals, you may in some cases renew overdue materials, but any fines owed at the time of the renewal will still be added to your library record.

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To renew items through a text message, you must first be signed up for text notifications. After you are signed up successfully and when your materials are about to come due, you will receive a text message tied to the correct item(s), one day prior to the due date. The text will give instructions for how to renew one or all items if they are eligible.

The text command to renew all items is RA for RENEW ALL. The text command to renew items from your list of current checkouts is RL for RENEW FROM A LIST.

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While in CountyCat Mobile, go to My Checkouts. (You may need to log in if you are not already).

Within the listing, you may renew individual titles using the Renew button. Or choose Renew All near the top.

It's possible that the app may not be able to process the renewal. You may get one of the following messages: "TOO MANY RENEWALS," "TOO SOON TO RENEW" or "ITEM ON HOLD." These messages mean your attempt at renewal was NOT successful.

Click Cancel to go back to the listing of checkouts.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, our libraries understand that people may not feel comfortable physically coming into the library to renew a library card. For this reason, please reach out to your local library to learn about alternative ways available to renew your library card. Keep in mind, you are able to renew your library card at any public library in Milwaukee County. Should you want to head in, great, but please double check the current hours for the given library before doing so.

However you choose to renew your card, plan to have one-to-two valid forms of identifications ready. The number of IDs required varies depending on which library you renew with. It's always wise to have one of the IDs used to verify your identity include a photo, along with a current document (paper or digital) that verifies your current Milwaukee County address. Here is a list of acceptable forms of identification:

Examples of Acceptable Name ID

• Valid Driver’s license or state ID
• Valid Municipal ID
• Current Student Picture ID
• Current Military ID
• Valid Wisconsin License which includes physical characteristics, such as a fishing or hunting license
• Passport
• Birth Certificate
• Current Employment Picture ID

Examples of Acceptable Name and Address ID

• Valid Driver’s license
• Valid Municipal ID
• Voter ID/registration information from MyVote.gov
• A valid and current rental lease agreement with your name and address. No handwritten receipts
• Postmarked mail received at your home within the last 30 days. No window envelopes, junk mail or magazines
• Utility bills (gas, electric, cable and telephone) mailed to you within the last month.
• Printed online account statement from a utility or financial institution with your current address and dated within the past month
• Recent report card from school
• Current school schedule with address
• Current insurance card with name and address
• Recent paycheck stub with name and address
• Pre-printed personal Checks (with your checkbook)
• Vehicle Registration

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