Manage Your Account

Your Library account gives you access to Library information online.

Use your account online to:

  • Renew items you have checked out up to three times if no one else is waiting
  • Place holds on items you want to borrow
  • See when your items are due and check if you have overdue items
  • Pause your holds when you are out-of-town or on vacation
  • View any charges on your account
  • See if any items on hold are ready for pick up
  • Keep track of your borrowing history (opt-in to enable)

To login to your account, enter your Library card number (the 13-digit number found on your Library card) and your Personal Identification Number (PIN).

To protect your privacy, always log out of your account when you are finished and never let the browser save your password if you are on a public or shared computer.

For help with setting up your account, creating or changing your PIN, or making payments online:

Library Notifications

Keep track of your account holds, due dates, and other account activity with Library Notifications by email, text or phone, or sign up for Library Elf to customize your notification schedule.

Phone and Email Notifications

If you have an email address linked to your Library card, you will receive these notifications:

  • Due date and overdue item notifications
  • Holds ready for pickup notifications
  • Lost item and billing notifications
  • Other important account information

Email services may place email notifications in your spam or junk mail folder. Please make sure your spam or junk mail folder is set to accept messages from noreplygar@midhudson.org.

If you would prefer to receive notifications by phone, please visit the library or email us at staff@desmondfishlibrary.org to request changes to your account.

Opt-In Text Notifications

Receive Holds to pickup, Overdue items, Courtesy notices (auto renewals) even faster by opting in to Text Notifications through your library account.

  • Use your barcode and PIN to login to your library account at midhudsonlibraries.org
  • Click My Account in the top right of the Screen
  • Click Edit Account
  • Enter your mobile number as shown below and check the “opt in” box
  • Scroll to the bottom of the window and click Submit
  • Your first text will ask you to reply “yes” to confirm that you want to be texted at this number.Stop receiving text messages from the library by following the steps below:
  • Replying to any message with STOP; QUIT; CANCEL; UNSUBSCRIBE; or STOP ALL, which will stop all messages from all participating libraries
  • Texting STOP to either 35143 or 82453, which will stop all messages from all participating libraries
  • Library staff may opt you out of the text message service. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to your Local Library for assistance.

Library Elf

You can choose to get extra reminders for you and your family before an item is due with Library Elf. Library Elf is a tool for keeping track of what’s due, overdue and ready for pickup. You can keep track of one or more Library accounts in one place and receive notifications when you want to receive them.

You can sign up with Library Elf to receive overdue and hold notifications.

  • Choose your own notification schedule
  • Get notifications by email, SMS (text message), iCalendar (to add to your online calendar), and RSS (for feed readers)
  • Combine multiple accounts to receive notifications in one place (examples: your Library card, a family member’s Library card, a Mid-Hudson Library System card, etc.)

See Library Elf privacy policy and FAQ.

 

No More Late Fines

Starting on Jan. 2, 2020, we will no longer charge daily late fines for overdue items, thanks to the 2019 Library Levy.

Why get rid of late fines?

Late fines are not effective. Other Library systems have stopped charging late fines and shown that this has no impact on return rates. Getting rid of late fines can even increase use of Library materials.

It’s good for our community. Late fines prevent people who cannot afford them from using the Library in the first place.

Fines are not predictable revenue. With more people using digital materials like e-books, we can no longer count on late fines to help cover costs.

What it means for you:

  • You will no longer be charged a daily fine for overdue items. As always, digital materials are checked in automatically with no late fines.
  • We will clear any late fines you currently owe from your account. You may still owe other Library fees, including lost item charges.
  • You can now renew items up to three times if no one else is waiting.
  • You are still responsible for returning your items on time. We do want all items back, and other people may be waiting. We will temporarily suspend your Library account if items are not returned 14 days after their due dates. When your account is suspended you cannot check out physical materials like books or DVDs or access some of our digital services until your overdue items are returned.
  • We consider items overdue by one month or more to be lost, and will bill you for the replacement cost.
  • Once you return an overdue item or pay for its replacement cost, your account will be reinstated and no fines will be charged
  • If you are unable to return overdue items or pay your balance, please contact us to discuss your options.
  • To help you remember to return items on time, we send reminders by email, text and phone. You can customize your reminders and choose how you want to receive them.