How Do I...

Find a book?

To request books and other materials in the Parkland Regional Library Catalogue click on the Catalogue tab. In Basic Search look for items by exact Title, Author, etc. If you do not know the exact title, use the Advanced Search to combine title and author or subject key words to find items.

Borrower ID = Library Card Barcode (ex. 21000001234567) PIN = last 4 digits of your phone number

Renew a Book?

To renew a book click on the My Account tab. Login using your ID and PIN. Choose the Checked Out tab, select the titles you wish to renew.

Place a Hold on a Book?

How do I place a hold, or request a book?
First, you have to find it.  Go to the Didsbury Municipal Library homepage http://dml.prl.ab.ca and click on the Catalogue tab at the top.
If you know the title of the book you want you can enter it in the first box.  If you are searching for books by a specific author, you can click on the little down arrow to the right of the search box and a number of choices will drop down.  Click on the one you want and put the name, or series, etc. for which you are searching.
If you do not have all the facts, you can fine-tune your search in many ways. Click on the Advanced Search tab and you can put together combinations of words – use the drop down menus to choose title, author, subject, or general keyword options.  You can also use the “Boolean operators” to the right of the search field boxes – they are logically what they say: “Painted House” in title keyword AND “Grisham” in author keyword will take you to John Grisham’s novel, not Debbie Travis’s home decorating books.

Place a hold

Should you wish to further refine your search, scroll down the page where you can select which library – choose Didsbury Municipal Library, for example, if you want to know if we have the book or if it is checked in. Perhaps you would like to see if one of our neighbours has it, if you are willing to make the drive.
It is even possible to limit your search to the type of material you are looking for – form audio book to DVD. And you can further sort your results by clicking on the quality you wish in the last drop down menu.

When you find the one you want, all you have to do is Click on the “Request Item” button – fill in your ID (all 14 numbers below the barcode on your library card – no spaces) and your PIN (the last 4 digits of your phone number).  Be careful, if you click on the “Add to My List” you will not be prompted for ID, but you will create a book list, which can also be a handy tool.  Click on the My List tab at the top of the page to see what you can do with your list.

What if I don’t find the one I want?
You can search other libraries in Alberta by clicking on the “Other Resources” tab at the top of the page, and then clicking on TAL Online.  This will search The Alberta Library site, which searches other public and academic libraries in Alberta – you can use the drop down menus to select which libraries and which type of search you wish to do.  once you find the item you wish, simply click on the “Request This Item” button and follow the instructions.  The book will come to the Didsbury Municipal Library and we will contact you when it does.

I still can’t find the book I want.
Call the library 403 335-3142 or drop by to chat with us.  We can search the National Library, and place an interlibrary loan request for you.

Access an Online Database?

Databases are simply digital collections of professional journal articles, book excerpts, organized stats and facts, and magazine and newspaper articles – which means that you can search through thousands of them using keywords, phrases, or names to find information on topics of interest to you.  Generally, you can then save the information, send it by email, or print it out to use later.

Why databases?  While it is true that you can readily enter search keywords into Google or any other search engine on the internet,  and come up with many ‘hits’ – websites that may or may not contain the information you are looking for – you cannot always be certain of the accuracy or validity of the information.  If you are doing research for a term paper, an important presentation, or medical treatment or care, for examples, veracity is very important. Generally, database articles are professionally written and may be peer-reviewed or vetted by other professionals.

Which databases? Parkland Regional Library and The Alberta Library subscribe to a great number of databases, to which your library card gives you access.  There are huge collections of reference articles in such products as “General Reference Center Gold” and “Canadian Reference Centre”;  there are helpful references to books and authors, lists of ‘read-a-likes’ and book reviews in “NoveList” and “Fiction Connection” or “Global Books in Print”.  You can look up newspaper articles from across the country in “Canadian Newstand”.  Looking for car repair information?  Try “Auto Repair Reference Centre” for recall notices, repair tips, how-to manuals, and wiring diagrams – all sorted by make and model. Learn a new language using “Aurolog – Tell Me More” software – complete with audio and visual feedback.

Where are these databases? The above list just names a few that are available.  Click here to see the complete list. http://www.prl.ab.ca/databases or go to the Didsbury Library Catalogue (the tab at the top of the page) and click on “Other Resources”.  You can search one resource (or database) at a time, or click on “Search Many Resources” to enter keywords and search many places at the same time.

How do I search databases? Start with http://www.prl.ab.ca/databases or go to the Didsbury Library Catalogue (the tab at the top of the page) and click on “Other Resources”.  When you click on a database, if you are in the library, you will be taken directly to the search page. If you are on your home computer, you will be prompted for a user ID and password.  The ID is the 14-digit number (no spaces) below the barcode on your library card. Your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number (unless you have gone into the Your Account tab on the Catalogue page, and changed it). Each database may be set up slightly differently, but you enter keywords or phrases into the search fields and choose some parameters such as: “full text only”, or “peer-reviewed” or you might wish to enter some date limits. There is usually a link on the entry page for each database with tips on searching. And you can always come to see your friendly staff at the Didsbury Municipal Library – we will be happy to help you find the information you need.

What are e-books? Parkland Regional Library has purchased about 60 e-books. These are books available online, to read, and sometimes to listen to. They are complete with illustrations and Tables of Contents. An excellent resource for popular interest or for academic study, they are only a few clicks away. You can access a direct link to a list of 50 e-books here. Or you can do keyword searches through all of them at http://www.prl.ab.ca/databases , click on the Gale Virtual Reference Library on the left side menu list.

Get a Library Card?

Any adult, student or child residing in the Town of Didsbury or in the County of Mountain View may obtain a library card by registering at the library's check-out desk. Please have with you, identification indicating your place of residence. Should you reside in a municipality other than Didsbury or Mountain View County, but that is a member of Parkland Regional Library System, our staff can issue you a card according to your home library’s policies. Go to http://www.prl.ab.ca for more information. All borrower cards are non-transferable, which means you cannot check out materials for other people on your account. All cards must be signed. Children under the age of 16 must have a parent or guardian sign their card. Present your card at the library card in order to most efficiently check out materials.

The Alberta Library Card (TAL) is the standard Adult Borrower card issued by Didsbury Municipal Library and it permits borrowing privileges at any TAL member library. To use your TAL Card at another library, first register at their circulation desk, where they will affix a barcode to your card, and inform you of their lending policies. TAL borrowers may be limited to 5 books, but each library may have different policies and permit more than 5 or other kinds of materials. Any books or other items borrowed from other libraries can be returned to the Didsbury Municipal Library. All, but just a few public and academic libraries are members of TAL. For more information go to http://www.thealbertalibrary.ab.ca.