Borrowing Materials

Your library card is your key to borrowing circulating books, cassettes, compact discs, videos, etc. at any Hawaii public library. Just present your card and library materials to the staff at the circulation desk. The staff member will scan the 10-digit bar codes on your library card and on your library materials with a laser reader, and the automated circulation system will immediately register the loans. The staff member will then stamp the due date on the materials. Books and most other material are loaned out for three weeks and videos for one week. At many libraries, staff will also "thump" your books on a small machine, which is part of our security system.

Books and most other library materials may be renewed for an additional three weeks (one week for videos) if there are no reserves on the items. Only one renewal per item is allowed. You may renew your materials at any public library, by calling the Telephone Renewal Unit of the Hawaii State Library (808-586-3652 from Oahu and 1-800-820-7368 from neighbor islands), or by calling any Hawaii public library.

Reserving

If the item you need is on loan to someone else or is not immediately available at your library, you may ask staff to place a reserve for you. You may also place the reserve yourself at a public terminal or from your personal computer and internet connection. In addition, the public access catalog (PAC) is available online at http://ipac.librarieshawaii.org. Enter your library card's number and PIN to proceed.

The searching capabilities of this catalog include: basic, advanced, and power search.  You may request items individually or combine them with the "My list" function prior to placing the request. 

PIN NUMBER REQUIRED TO RESERVE ITEMS: library patrons are required to enter a personal identification number (PIN) before placing a request to reserve library materials. Initially, the PIN is the last four digits of the telephone number which you provided when you registered for your library card. You will be able to change the PIN by accessing the "My Account" function. Please see a staff member if you have any questions about your PIN.

NOTE: Please do NOT place a reserve and then immediately go to the library to pick up the book or other material. If you need the item as soon as possible, please telephone the library which shows an "on shelf" copy BEFORE making a trip. The staff will check the shelves and make sure that a copy is available for you. Please copy down the author, title, and call number before you call the library.

Returning Materials

Most library materials do not have to be returned to the library from which they were borrowed. They may be returned to any public library. After hours, books may be returned in the library's bookdrop. Because audiovisual materials can be damaged when heavy books fall on top of them in the bookdrop, they should be returned to a circulation desk during the library's open hours.

Renewing Materials: 

Please contact the Hawaii State Library at 586-3652 for renewing items over the phone.  Not all items are eligible for renewal.

Telephone Reference Unit

Oahu: 808-586-3621 (reference only)
Neighbor Islands: 1-800-390-3611
Hawaii State Library
478 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96813