Picking up your kit
You may begin your reservation on any date and pick up your kit from the Reference Desk at any time the library is open. If you would like to designate one or more people to pick up your kit for you, please add their names as Authorized Users on each reservation. Reminder phone calls or e-mails are provided as a courtesy when kits become available.

Making your reservation
With reservations accepted up to one year in advance, and a 6 week checkout period for the Book Group in a Bag kit, and your book discussions meeting weekly or monthly or irregularly, scheduling your book group titles can get complicated. Here are some tips to help you plan ahead and choose dates and titles.

Planning for when your group meets
Here is an example. If your book group meets on the second Wednesday of every month, write out your upcoming meeting dates.
January 13, 2010
February 10, 2010
March 10, 2010
April 14, 2010
May 12, 2010
June 9, 2010

Choosing your six week reservation period
Let’s say you want to discuss Pride and Prejudice at your February 10th book discussion. Your friends will want to read Pride and Prejudice in the month before the February 10th discussion, so you need to hand out the books at your January 13th meeting. You can pick up your Book Group in a Bag kit at the Reference Desk in the week before your discussion. Use the calendar to figure out what date range would work well for your schedule. For example, to pick up the kit over the weekend before your group, start your reservation on January 8th. A 6 week reservation will last until February 19th, and you can return the book kit after your group meets to discuss the title.

Requesting certain books for certain dates
Use the online reservation system to choose available titles for your group. The calendar under each book title shows the available reservation start dates. Your book group may have specific titles they want to discuss at certain meetings, or you may just have a list of titles you would like to do at any time in the future. If you plan ahead, the availability of titles is increased.

Checking your dates
So, for this reservation, you can pick up your Book Group in a Bag at the library on or after January 8th and give it out to your friends at your January 13th meeting. At your February 10th meeting, you can all discuss the book and turn in the copies. The kit is due back at the library on or before February 19th so that it can be ready for the next customer’s reservation. 

Still confusing?
Although the Online Reservation System is designed to be self-service for our customers, staff is able to help customers place reservations over the telephone or in person at the Reference Desk. You will need to use your library barcode and PIN. The most important information that you need to know is the dates your group meets and the titles that you are interested in reading.