Catalog Update

The Minuteman Library Network, which includes the Lincoln Public Library, upgraded to a new catalog interface in November 2023. This upgrade is designed to make it even easier for you to find out what is in your library’s collection. You can start using LPL’s new catalog now, at lincoln.minlib.net.

Catalog Improvements

• Better Browsing
  Scroll through book covers of your libraries latest additions, best-sellers, or special collections or staff picks your library has selected.
  
• Grouped Search Results
  Different editions of the same title are grouped together in your search results so that you can find them more easily.
  • See how Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy displays. You can reserve the one most likely to be found first, or click “Show Editions” and reserve one of the specific editions.
    
• Better List Management
  It is easier to add titles to your “want to read” list and manage your lists as you like. If you also want to turn on a record of your reading history, it will start to include things you read or hear on Libby or Hoopla, too.
  
• More supported languages
  The new catalog website offers even more supported languages for auto-translation. This adds Arabic, Haitian Creole, and Korean to our current offerings of English, Chinese, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

How do I get started?

• Sign into your account on lincoln.minlib.net! You will use your library card number (or username) and password from the old catalog. If you have a card, but never set up a password before, you can do it now.
  
• Once you are signed in, click on your name to check out information and options for your account.
  • If you had lists on the old catalog, click on Your Lists and find the Import From Old Catalog button. Your lists are now in the new catalog.
  • If you want the catalog to remember what you have read, click on Reading History and turn it on. If you had already done that in the old catalog, your reading history will be copied to the new catalog. You can turn this off at any time, and delete specific titles you don’t care about from your list. Please note: if your reading history is 3,000 titles or longer, we recommended that you continue to use the old catalog for now.
    
• Click Browse on the top menu and enjoy browsing through the books your library has collected for you!

Getting Started with the New Catalog

Searching

To search the catalog, type in the Search field. You can type in a keyword, an author, a title – whatever you’re looking for, then click Search. Your search results will show each title with all the available formats for that title. No more scrolling through search results to find the format you’re looking for, because it’s all right here!

See a quick instructional video for Searching & Grouped Results [VIDEO] here.

Place Holds

When you find an item you’d like to place on hold, click the Place Hold button next to the format you prefer. If you’re not signed in, you’ll be prompted for your library card number and PIN or password.

Sign Into Your Account

Sign into your account from the Sign In link at the top-right side of your browser. Then enter your library card number and your PIN or password.

See a quick instructional video for Signing Into Your Account & Settings [VIDEO] here.

Your Account

You’ll land on this account summary page after signing in. You’ll see a section titled Your Account from the menu on the left-hand side. Under Your Account , you have access to to the following:

• Checked Out Titles
  These titles are currently checked out to you, including Physical Materials, Libby/Overdrive, and Hoopla. Libby and Hoopla are digital collections which you can now conveniently see in your account!
  
• Titles On Hold
  These titles are currently on hold for you, including Physical Materials and Libby/Overdrive (digital collections).
  
• Fines
  You can view fines and make payments here.
  
• Your Library Card
  This is a digital version of your library card.

See a quick instructional video for Your Account Walkthrough [Video] here.

Account Settings

You’ll land on this account summary page after signing in. You’ll see a section titled Account Settings from the menu on the left-hand side. Under Account Settings, you have access to to the following:

• Your Preferences
  Set your Home Library and Language under Your Preferences.
  
• Contact Information
  Update your phone number and email under Contact Information.
  
• Reset Username & Reset Password
  Use Reset Username and Reset Password to make changes to those login credentials.

See a quick instructional video for Signing Into Your Account & Settings [VIDEO] here.

Lists

Under each grouped work, an Add To List button will be there. When you go to create your first list in Aspen, a default My Favorites list will be waiting for you. If you want to name this list something else, click on Create a New List and give your list a name. As you continue to add titles to your list, Aspen will default to your last modified list instead of My Favorites.

You can also see your Lists under Your Account.

See a quick instructional vide for Your Lists [VIDEO] here.

Reading History

To access reading history, first log into your account, then click Reading History on the left-side menu.

When logging into your account in the new catalog for the first time, you’ll see this message with information about reading history data and privacy. By default, Aspen will not record your reading history. You’ll need to click Start Recording Reading History in order to activate this feature.

If you had any reading history in the old catalog, clicking this button will also bring in any of that existing reading history.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have a very long Reading History in the old catalog (2000+ items), there is a current bug that may cause the import of your history to stall and get stuck. If you have a very long reading history, please hold off on turning Reading History on until the issue is fixed. As long as you keep recording history in the old catalog at find.minlib.net, it will be there for when the import feature is working.

See a quick instructional video for Your Reading History [VIDEO] here.