Frequently Asked Questions

Reserving materials or placing "HOLDS" is a free service provided by Harris County Public Library. You may request copies of items that are owned by HCPL but not currently available. 

How to place a hold online   Watch a YouTube video

• Using the search box on top of each page to locate the book or other item you want to check out
• Click on the “Place hold” button. 
• Enter your library card or username and password. 
• Select a pick-up location from the drop-down list.
• Click on “Place hold” button.  

Other ways to place holds:

• Through catalog workstations in any branch 
• Through Internet access to the Library's catalog 
• Through a Holds request given to a staff member 
• Through a phone request to a staff member 

You will need:  

• The barcode number from your Harris County Public Library card 
• Your PIN (Personal Identification Number). You chose a PIN when you applied for your library card. 
• Computer and Internet Access. 
• You can access our system at any HCPL branches or from your own computer with Internet access 

Customers can have a maximum of 30 holds per library card at one time. 

The time to receive a hold will vary depending on if copies are available immediately, or if there is a wait list on the item. HCPL makes all efforts to make your wait for your item as short as possible. 

You will receive an email when your hold is ready for pickup. If you haven’t added your email address to your account, you’ll receive a notification by phone. 

 Yes, you can! You might need to place a hold on an eBook or eAudiobook in our Overdrive/Libby collection. You can read more about how to place hold on Overdrive’s support site for the Libby app. 

If your holds are listed as available in your account, they can be picked up from the hold shelf at the branch listed. Holds are filed by last name on the hold shelf at the location you selected.

To see the status of your holds

• Log in to your account
• Click on My Borrowing
• Click on On Hold. 
• The status indicates if the hold is ready to pick up. 

Your item will remain on the hold shelf for 7 days on which the library is open. After that time, the hold is considered to be expired and will be shelved at the library or sent to fill another hold. 

They are many possible reasons you may not be seeing notifications. If you suspect that you are not receiving email notices that you should be getting, please try the following:

1. Check your email spam folder and/or junk mail folder in case your email client is miscoding library email as junk mail or spam. Library email notification messages are sent from the sender circ@hcpl.net, opens a new window.

Below are sample notifications

   Library overdue notifications have:
   From: Library Central Circulation
   Subject: Your HCPL item will be due on DATE

   The request hold notifications have:
   From: BRANCH NAME that holds your item
   Subject: Harris County Public Library Email Notification

2. Check your email settings, allowing emails coming from circ@hcpl.net, opens a new window.

3. Check your Windows security levels, antivirus program, and firewall settings.

4. If you still are not receiving expected notifications, contact your Internet and email service provider. The emails sent from the library might have been filtered out by your service provider as spam and have never made it to your mailbox. Find out what they can do for you. Let them know that anything from the hcpl.net domain is important email and is not spam.

5. If everything you try fails, consider signing up for a web-based email service such as Gmail and use it to receive notifications from the library. To change your library email preference setting:

• Go to "Log In / My HCPL" on upper right and click on "My settings"
• Log in if you have not done so.
• Update Email Address used for library notification .  You have option to use different email for digital items sent by eResources providers such as Overdrive. 
• Save Changes

HCPL can send out notifications to your email when the items you have requested are ready for pick up or an item you have on loan is about to become due.

Here is how to add an email address to your account

• Go to "Log In / My HCPL" on upper right and click on "My Settings"
• Log in if you have not done so.
• Enter your email address in the box used for library notification .  You have option to use different email for digital items sent by eResources providers such as Overdrive. 
• Save Changes

Yes, but only people you tell us can pick up your holds. Visit or call your library so that we can set up “Pick up by” preferences in your account.   

To cancel a hold online

• Log in to your account
• Click on My Borrowing
• Click on On Hold. 
• Click on the Cancel button. 

You can also call the pick-up location to cancel over the phone.

To view items you have on hold:

• Click on Login / My HCPL on the upper right hand corner.  Then click on "On Hold".
• Enter your library card # or Username and PIN and click on Log In button.  
• You will now see your hold(s), the queue position (where you are in the wait list) and the status.
• Click Cancel Hold if you no longer want the item(s).
• Click Suspend Hold if you wish to suspend your hold.

To set or change your preferred pick up location

• Login to your account
• Click on My Settings
• Click on Account Preferences
• Select your preferred Holds and Pickup Location. 

You can place a hold on it.  The item will be pulled from the shelf at another HCPL branch and sent to your local branch for pick up. You will be notified when it is ready to pick up.  If the item is currently checked out, you will be placed on a waiting list. 

Most of our digital items are like print items and only one person can borrow one copy at a time. Sometimes titles are available as Simultaneous Use and an unlimited number of people can borrow that title at the same time. Publishers decide how digital items can be used.