Once you have completed the Suggest a Title Form requesting SFPL order a title we currently do not carry, you can get an email notification letting you know when we have ordered the title, if we decide to do so.

You can do this is via Preferred Search in the Classic Catalog.

Due to licensing agreements with the vendors who provide our digital content, we are not able to issue library cards to people remotely unless you are a resident of the City and County of San Francisco who has a disability/long-term medical condition that prevents you from visiting the library.

All other applicants must visit us in-person to receive a library card .

Library cards are free to California residents.

NOTE: All ebooks and eaudiobooks return on their own, so there's no need to return them early. They will disappear from your library account and device once the loan period has ended. If you are using BiblioCommons (SFPL Catalog) to manage your ebook loans, please wait 15-20 minutes for this transaction to take effect.

if you would like to return a digital title early to free up space or to help reduce wait times, please see the instructions below. 

Libby App

1. Open the Libby app on your computer, phone, or tablet.

The Bibliocommons catalog offers adults and teens ages 13 and up the opportunity to use its social media components, but restricts children under the age of 13 from using these components. In the U.S., children under 13 are not allowed to enter free-text websites without explicit parental approval (per COPPA, the Child Online Privacy Protection Act). Kids can create a username color/animal/number format, but will not be able to create a personal user name until they turn 13.

Single Clicks Holds is a way to have your holds automatically sent to a preferred branch.

Here is how to turn on the SINGLE CLICK HOLDS option:

1. Log in to the Bibliocommons catalog by going to our home page sfpl.org  and click the LOG IN/MY SFPL link near the top, center of the screen. Enter your full 14 digit library card number or user name, and PIN/password.

2. Once you have successfully logged in. click on YOUR USER NAME on the top, right side of the screen, and select the ON HOLD option from the drop down menu.

We have a great resource for reader's advisory/suggested read-alikes called Novelist. 

There are a couple ways you can get to it.

1. From our homepage sfpl.org , type a topic you want to find books about in the main search box on the top right side of the screen and click on the magnifying glass or hit enter on your keyboard.

2. This will take you to a search results page. Click on the title that most interests you.

3. You will now be on a title's information page. On the right side is a column called EXPLORE FURTHER. 

Preferred Search is how you would be notified about new titles added to the catalog.

Please follow the steps below to create a Preferred Search List.

1. From our homepage www.sfpl.org  hover over the BOOKS & MEDIA tab and select CLASSIC CATALOG from the drop down menu.

2. Click on the LOG IN button.

3. Enter your Library Card Number and your Personal PIN number and click the LOG IN button.

4. Select the SEARCH THE CATALOG link.

Unfortunately, you CANNOT remove items from, or otherwise edit, your Borrowing History. It straight up remembers everything you've checked out, and the only way to delete one thing is to delete them all.

HOWEVER! Bibliocommons offers the Completed Shelf feature. You can add whatever items you want from your Borrowing History to the Completed Shelf, and delete whatever you want as well.

STEP 1: Log into your library account dashboard.

Log In with your 14-digit library card number/username and PIN/password and click My Library Dashboard  (BiblioCommons Catalog) under your username. If you need to reset your PIN or password, please use our PIN/password Reset Tool .

STEP 2: Click Submit a Suggestion.

Under My Borrowing on the left side of your Library Dashboard, click Submit a Suggestion (or Suggested this Month to track prior suggestions). You may submit 10 per month.

Here are directions on how to import your Classic Catalog lists into the Bibliocommons catalog:

1. Once you are logged in to the Bibliocommons catalog, click on YOUR USER NAME on the top, right side of the screen, and choose FOR LATER  from the drop down menu.

 2.You will see a button called IMPORT LIST ITEMS; clicking on that will import everything from the Classic Catalog into Bibliocommons