After clicking the REQUEST button, you will be prompted to log into CountyCat if you are not already. Log in using your barcode (or username) and PIN.

After this point, you will be prompted to select a hold pickup location from a drop down menu. Now click Submit.

The system will confirm your request has been successful and that you will be notified when the item is available for pickup.

To request multiple items, search the catalog and mark items you with to request using the book cart icon found to the right of each title.

At any point, you may remove or add titles to the cart. Once you have items in your book cart, you'll see the view cart text link. This is true in the search results OR in a full CountyCat record like below.

When you click on view cart, the screen looks like this. At this point you could email titles to someone or yourself, you may still remove items. To place a multiple-item request, click the Request button.

If you are not already logged into CountyCat, you will be prompted to do so. Afterwards, the system will give you a REQUEST form where you'll see the titles and be asked to select a HOLD PICKUP location. Do so and click Submit. 

The system will confirm your request has been successful and that you will be notified when the item is available for pickup.

Once an item has been checked in to fill your hold and is placed on the holdshelf, you will be notified by either a telephone, email, print notice or text notice.

MCFLS sends out hold pickup notices via email and phone four times per day Monday through Friday. On Saturdays, these notices are sent out three times a day. On Sundays they go out twice a day.  Text hold pickup notices also go out each day but through a separate service called Shoutbomb. That service requires persons to manually sign up. Learn how to do that here.

For telephone notices, all area codes are supported.

You can specify which method you would like to use for notifications when you register or editing your library record in CountyCat (via the Modify Personal Information link).

The best option for receiving hold pickup notices is generally through email, as these will include more specific information about the item being held and will get to you more quickly.

Holds expire from the holdshelf at your pickup location 5 days from the date they are placed there. These items are then returned to the owning library or passed to the next person in the queue.

Your notification message will specifiy the last date the item will be available on the holdshelf.

View this help sheet which shows where to look for hold pickup notifications and the HOLD PICKUP BY date.

Enter your search terms into the app and click enter to execute the search. (Note some devices use 'search,' 'done', or 'return').  NOTE: The app does not allow you to create a book cart and place multiple requests.

When you see a title of interest, touch the Find a Copy to see where it's available. To place a request, choose Request for Pickup.

The next screen will display a drop down menu. Choose the library location where you want to collect the item from.

The system will then post a message that your hold was accepted.

To check your holds in the mobile app, choose the My Account menu option from the home screen midway down. Another way to access this area is using the Home menu located in the top, upper right of any screen.

From the next screen choose Held Items.

You will now see all held of your held items. The Status area indicates if the title is still on hold or in transit to your pickup location!  The wording is small and a little cryptic but it should give information. Don't forget, to REFRESH the app, use a finger and while at the very top of the screen, drag downward.

The below title is in transit coming to the Bay View branch location.  You will receive a hold pickup notice when it is ready to pick up.Use the buttons Freeze or Cancel to manage individual holds.

From within My Account > Held Items, you can see a list of titles either on hold or ready for hold pickup. From this list in the app, choose the Cancel button to cancel the hold.

NOTE: You will not be able to cancel holds on the holdshelf ready for pickup at the destined location.

You can freeze (suspend) a hold to retain your place in the hold queue. This postpones when the hold is to be filled. For instance, if you have requested titles on hold, but will be soon on vacation, you may want to freeze the holds so that none are filled while you are unable to retrieve them.

IMPORTANT: Staff are not able to unfreeze your frozen holds. This is something you must do within your CountyCat record, either using a web browser or the mobile catalog app.

HOW TO FREEZE A HOLD:

To freeze holds, log into your account on CountyCat. From the list of holds, check the appropriate boxes from the "Freeze" column, then select "Update List."

Choose 'YES' in response to the confirmation message that comes up next. The holds will remain frozen until you"unfreeze" them.

Not all titles will offer a freeze option.

If you see no checkbox in the FREEZE column, then that is the case (see the image to the right). Reasons why a title cannot be frozen include:

• Titles are in transit,
• Title were just placed on hold and technically still available,
• Titles are ready for pickup
• Titles have been on hold more than 255 days

Here is what the screen looks like in the CountyCat Mobile app for a title that cannot be frozen.

TO UNFREEZE HOLDS

Again, go into your Countycat account and under Holds.  Uncheck the box in the FREEZE column and click Update.  Then click the Yes button to proceed.

Frozen holds are kept for 255 days from the date the hold was placed. The frozen hold remains frozen until the patron unfreezes it even after the 255 days. Staff cannot unfreeze holds for a patron.

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.

Your library card provides access to so many free, online resources from the comfort of your home. For a full list, check out the Resources by Area page.

• • Read an e-book or listen to an audiobook using OverDrive (Libby), Hoopla or Ebsco E-books.
  • Read or view E-magazines from RBdigital
  • Stream, or download television shows or movies using Hoopla
  • Listen to music online using Hoopla.
  • Take an online course using Gale Courses which offers hundreds of classes online from professional instructors.
  • Learn or brush up on another language using Transparent Languages Online.
  • Research a topic or continue your studies using the library's FREE online databases including those from BadgerLink.
  • Explore America's historic newspapers from 1789-1963 using Chronicling America.
  • Dig into the past using Ancestry Library Edition. This resource is available remotely through December 31, 2020 for certain municipalities that already subscribe to the Proquest version of this product.
  • Connect with award-winning children's books and their authors using TeachingBooks' Book & Reading Engagement Kit: Home Edition - For home schoolers and for everyone, this resource offers 172,000+ videos, audio recordings, ready-to-use activities, and lessons to help connect individuals to a rich assortment of award-winning children's books and authors. No library card required.

Yes. Member libraries have currently relaxed restrictions for patrons to access both OverDrive and Hoopla as long as your total fines are not more than $100.

In addition, member libraries are working to add more OverDrive (Libby) e-books and e-audiobooks to the Wisconsin Digital Library collection.

All Milwaukee County residents can sign up for a temporary library card which provides access to resources like Hoopla and OverDrive/Libby. For more information and to sign up, click here.

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.

To sign up for text notifications, you can connect with a library staff person at a public services desk. Ask the staffer to add your cell phone number to your patron account. You will be signed up. You won't get a welcome text. Notifications will start once there is activity on your account.

NOTE: Text notices are a secondary service to what our MCFLS library system provides for notifications. If you have an email address in your record or want phone notifications in addition to text notices, that is possible!

Use any of these text commands after you are signed up:

More text commands include:

• addcard - Add an additional library card to your notifications.
• addemail - Request to update user's profile with an email address.
• dropemail - Request to update user’s profile by deleting existing email address.
• fees- Toggles notification on or off when fees have been added to your account. This option is not automatically turned on when you register.
• help - Request detailed descriptions and how to use each keyword.
• ioweu - Current fees broken down by barcodes
• isbn - Texting the letters "ISBN” + a 10- or 13-digit ISBN number to search the library catalog. Useful if you are in a bookstore and want to check library holdings.
• mycards - Lists the cards you've registered
• resend - Resend the last message from Shoutbomb.
• switchphone - switch carriers or phone numbers. If switching numbers it will ask for your card number.
• quit – turn off the text messaging service.

Yes. After receiving any text from the service, send a reply text with the term ADDCARD and respond to the prompts. You will need the other library barcode.

To end all text notifications, and cancel your registration, text the message QUIT to 833-568-6639. Reply to the instructions from Shoutbomb. If you run into any additional issues, text the message STOP to completely remove your barcode from the Shoutbomb service. This will end messages from coming in.

You will also want to go INTO your CountyCat account and remove the text message number from your record.

No. Shoutbomb is the company MCFLS contracts with for text notices. This is separate and secondary to the email, phone and paper notices our library system provides through our system software.

If you sign up for text notices, you will receive other email or phone notices for hold pickups, items due soon and overdue items.

Some member libraries place returned library materials into a 24-hour quarantine. The items are then backdated upon checkin to reflect the actual return date.Please reach out to a specific library if you have more questions.

Our libraries made the choice to move to a new app to provide you with a few more features than the existing app offered.  This includes

• being able to limit search results to one location
• being able to see the Hold Pickup By date for your holds,
• being able to place more types of library holds and to cancel holds at any point in the holds process,
• being able to view your reading history,
• being able to link another person's library account to your own,
• being able to change the language of the app.

A few features are still not ready in this version of the app, but we are working to add them!  The Public Libraries of Milwaukee County hope to be able to expand this app to include better e-resource integration and to eventually add a My List feature.  Let us know what you think.

If you do not currently have the CountyCat Mobile app, go to the correct App store for your device, search for CountyCat Mobile and follow the prompts to install the app.

• • iOS App store (for Apple users)
  • Google Play store (for Android users)

If you already have the CountyCat Mobile app with an iOS device, update the CountyCat app to see the new version.

If you already have the CountyCat Mobile app with an Android device, you will need to

• • Uninstall the current app.
  • Go to the Google Play store, and install the new version. You may need to search for CountyCat in the app store.

Would you like to update the operating system (os) behind your smart phone or device?  Check out these short videos:

• How to Update an iPhone, iPad to the Current iOS
  The app requires at least iOS 9.0
• How to Update an Android Device to the Current Android OS
  The app requires at least Android 4.4

Yes.  It's best to stay logged into the app.

Feel free to close the app when you are not using it but plan to stay logged in. This will allow you to take advantage of the most features and it insures you won't have to reset any linked accounts.

This is specific to iPhones and has to do with how the barcode is processed on those devices.  You can just ignore the letters and continue on using the app or logging in.  Those letters do not prevent you from logging in or using the app.

Yes.  Both CountyCat and the CountyCat Mobile app allow patrons to log in using a barcode, username or school ID followed by a PIN.  If you want to add a username to your library record see the FAQ on that topic. In general, plan to stay logged into the app. You may close the app, just don't log out.

In order to view your Reading History in the app, it must be activated in your library account already. To do this, go into CountyCat on a web browser such as Chrome or Firefox. Go to https://countycat.mcfls.org, log into your library account and under Reading History choose OPT IN.

Once you do that, your reading history will show as an option in the app under My Accounts > Checkouts > Reading History. Be sure to say logged into the app for the best results.

You will need to log into the app. After doing so, you will see My Barcode at the bottom of the app's home screen.Touch that area to bring up your barcode. That can be used in the library in place of a library card for any type of checkout.

If you have another account linked, you will see an option to swipe up and show the other barcodes directly from the app.

Please stay logged into the app especially if you have any accounts linked.

When you sign out, it will sign out of all accounts. The only exception to this is if/when you have the app installed on multiple devices. When you sign out on one device, the app will ask if you want to sign out of "All devices" or "just this device." If you choose, "this device" then the linked account information will be retained as they are still connected on the other devices. If you do not have the app installed on multiple devices and you log out, then the linked accounts will be lost and you will need to re-add them again upon logging in.

The app supports these versions of operating systems:

• For Apple or iOS users, 9.0 or later
  How to Update an iPhone, iPad to the Current iOS
• For Android users, 4.4 and later
  How to Update an Android Device to the Current Android OS