Frequently Asked Questions

Show All Answers

1. Get a library card

Library cards are free of charge. You must provide a picture ID. (Many types are acceptable.) ’Permanent’ Library Cards are free of charge to Humboldt County residents with a permanent local mailing address. ’Express’ Library Cards are also free, and available without providing a local address. When replacing a lost card, there is a $4.00 fee.

-- More information about library cards.

2. Renew a book

To renew online, access your library account.  It's linked just below the 'Search the Library' search bar at the top of the library home page, or you can find it on the library catalog at the bottom of the right menu. You'll need your library card. Sign in to see a list of all the library books you have checked out now, and how to renew them. 

You can also renew a book over the phone or in person at any Library branch. Again, you'll need your library card. Books may be renewed twice and audio-visual materials may be renewed once. However, if someone else is waiting for the book or video, and has placed a hold on it, that item will not be renewed. You may renew your items by calling the library's circulation desk at 707-269-1915.  

Library Home Page

Go to the Library Catalog now.

3. Download books, audiobooks, and magazines

On the Humboldt County Library home page, use the ’What we Have’ menu at the top of the page to find our eBooks page.  From that page you can get to eBooks, audiobooks, magazines and more to use online or download.  (Our many eBooks aren’t listed in the library catalog, so you can’t find them with the regular book search.) 

You’ll need a Humboldt County Library Card to use and download most of these online resources.

Go right to the eBooks page now

4. Make the text on the library website bigger

There are at least two ways to do this 

(1) You can use control-plus. This is really easy, and works on most web pages! Hold down the control button (or, on a Mac, the command button or apple button) and press the  + key. Each time you press the plus key you zoom in and make the text and pictures on the page bigger. Using control-minus (hold control, then press the dash key, it’s right next to the plus key) will make the text smaller again. 

(2) You may prefer to use your computer’s Accessibility tools to see all or part of the page in a larger size. Since computers differ in how to get to these tools, use Google to get instructions if they aren’t easy to find on your computer. 

(3) If you see a symbol on the page with the letter A starting small and getting bigger, click that to make a modest change in size.  

Library Home Page

5. Get a book the library doesn't have

Here are three ways to get a book the library doesn’t have.

New Books

If the book is less than a year old, make a New Book Suggestion.  (You can suggest films or audio also. We can’t promise to buy everything, but we wish we could!)  Do you want to get an email if your suggestion is purchased?  Then create a Preferred Search for your title and make sure the library has your correct email address. 

Interlibrary Loan

Check with a librarian to make sure the library doesn’t have the book somewhere.  If not, and the book is at least 18 months old, visit a library to ask us to get it by Interlibrary Loan.  The library can borrow it from another library for you to use.  Bring your library card (you need a ’permanent’ card for this service.) 

Zip Books

If the book is at least a year old, costs under $35 and is available via Amazon Prime, come in to the library and ask about getting a Zip Book.  Bring your library card (you need a ’permanent’ card for this service.)  Zip Books are real, paper books that the library orders shipped directly to your home. They arrive quickly, Zip!  When you return the book to the library it can become part of the library’s collection.

How to Request a Zip Book

6. Use the library's free Internet

Here are the basics: you can get a free turn on a library computer, or bring your own device and use wi-fi. To save work done on a library computer, or print files from your own computer, bring a portable drive (flash drive, thumb drive, memory stick) or save to your email or online account.

Prints can be made via library computers, and cost 10 cents a page. 50 cents for color prints. 

Internet sessions on public computers at the Main Library are 45 minutes, and the computer will offer you more time, up to another 15 minutes, if not many computers are in use. Most Branch Libraries have at least one computer on which you can get an hour-long turn. 

 At the Main Library in Eureka, use your Humboldt County Library Card to get a turn on a public computer. If you are a visitor, ask for a Guest Pass at the Computer Access Desk. If you are filling out a government form or an application form for school or employment, ask if a special computer is available for you. 

There is no wi-fi password needed at the Main Library in Eureka, but some branch libraries do require you to ask staff for the password. All use of the Library’s internet must be appropriate for a public place, and is subject to the Humboldt County Library Internet Policy.  On the left menu of the library home page, under Library Resources, look for Public Computers & Internet -- there you’ll find more details.

Visit the Public Computers & Internet Page Now

7. Ask a question when I'm not at the library

Please ask your questions by telephone, at 707-269-1905. 

If it’s not easy to use the phone, use the California Relay Service. Dial 711 to access this service. 

As remains true for many rural libraries, the Humboldt County Library does not provide email reference service.  Please do telephone us with your questions.

If you are out of the area and wish to ask a genealogical or local history question by mail, you may use our Obituary Search Service or Local History Search Service. These long distance research services are available for a ten dollar fee.  (Of course, research assistance is free when you visit the library.)

- Obituary & Local History Service info. here.

8. Contact the Webmaster about the library website

If you have a question....

If you have a question that needs an answer, please call the Main Library Reference Desk at 707-269-1905. Librarians can answer questions about the website and any kind of information questions over the telephone. 

If you have a comment or suggestion for our website, or a website problem to report....

use our Library Website Comment Form. The link is below. Use it for specific comments and suggestions about the website or to report website problems you have spotted such as broken links, errors or pages that need more information. The library website is intended to serve you. The webmaster appreciates your comments and will read them with care in hopes of improving the site for everyone.

Website Comment Form

9. Make sure I hear about events at the library

Don’t Miss the Event You’ve Been Waiting For!

Special Events Calendar

A calendar showing Special Events at All Libraries is found on the Humboldt County Library home page. Visit the web page for any branch library to see just the events happening at that branch. 

Get Event Notices

Subscribe to one or more library calendars.  At the calendar page you have the option to sign up to use iCalendar to feed library events into your own online calendar, or choose to get automatic email or text notices about events happening at one library, several, or all.  

Storytimes and Weekly Events 

Visit the Ongoing Events Page.  The many story times and events that happen regularly every week are not featured on our calendar. Instead they are on the Ongoing Events page and on individual branch pages.

Call and Ask 

As always, you may telephone any library location during open hours to ask about events. You can find your branch phone number on the individual branch homepage. 

Paper Calendars to Take Home

Most events at Eureka Main Library and some branch libraries are also available each month on paper calendars.  Check for one to take home at your friendly library service desk. 

Library Home Page

10. Search for a film at the library

In the library catalog, you can search for a movie in several ways 

Title Search 

 This is fast and easy If you know the title of the movie. 

Author Search (Used Also for Actors, Directors, etc.)

Use this search to find a full list of movies featuring a particular actor, or director (be sure to put the last name first, as in "Garbo, Greta"). 

Keyword Search

Use the most unusual words in the title and add the keyword DVD to your search.

Advanced Search

If you want to find all of the films we have on a subject (fairies, for instance, or knitting) you can use the Advanced Search. Choose Subject for the top search bar and type ’Fairies’. Then pick ’DVD’ from the Material Type box, and search.

Want to See a List? Search by Call Number!

Choose the Call Number search from the list in the right-hand menu when you are in the catalog.  For the call number, type ’DVD’.  The list you get by searching that way shows you up to ten thousand dvds - starting with any that have a zero in the call number or in the title.  But you can get a shorter list by trying a search like these -

Search  ’DVD M’  to get tv and drama movies like MASH, Ma & Pa Kettle, Macbeth, and all the library’s films that have titles that start with M.

Search  ’DVD 9’  to get titles that start with 9, plus documentaries about history, biography, or travel (topics from the Dewey Decimal 900s).

If you know the call number for your subject, you can get more exact and search ’DVD 914’ to get travel films about Europe and European countries.

Return to Library Home Page

11. Why is the library closed on Mondays?

The library staff work from Tuesday to Saturday, so that people who work a normal week can use the library on Saturday.

Return to Library Home Page.

12. Find a computer catalog at the Main Library in Eureka

Look for computers that have a Library Catalog sign on the top of the monitor screen. You will find two catalog computers west of the reference desk, two near the elevator, another two in the Children’s room, and others scattered around the library including upstairs near the films and music.

Return to Library Home Page.

13. Find a restroom in the Main Library

The library restrooms are off the lobby, to your right as you enter. There are no restrooms on the second floor. For children, there is a child-sized family restroom in the children's room.

See a map showing the locations of restrooms.