How to place holds on Koha

How to place holds on Koha


How to place holds using the online catalogue

It’s easy to request items or “place holds” online! There are 4 basic steps.

If you don’t have a username and password for your library account, or you’ve forgotten what it is, contact us! You can come by the library, call us at 519-364-1420, or e-mail us at hanpub@hanover.ca.

Once you have your username and password, visit the library’s website: hanoverlibrary.ca

Step 1: Find Koha

On the left side of the page, you will see a blue square with the word “koha” on it. Click on the word ‘koha.” If you have a phone or small tablet, scroll down to find “koha” below the menu.

screen shot how to place holds first step

Step 2: Log in to your account

On the right hand side of the screen is a place for you to sign into your account. Enter your username and password and click log in.

Log in to your account screen shot how to place holds log in screen

Step 3: Find items

Now you can see what’s available and place holds on items you want to borrow. You can search by title, author, or subject.

Browse the quick links

If you want to see what’s new in our collection, click on Home and scroll down to the list of links.

screen shot how to place holds quick links screen

Use the search bar

You can also use the search bar to search for a specific item. We will search for “Summer Island” by Kristin Hannah.

screen shot how to place holds. simple search bar

If you want to learn more about the item, click on the title.

how to place holds screen shot results summer island

Step 4: Place the hold

Click on “Place hold” to put the item on hold. Your name will be added to the list of patrons waiting to borrow this item when it is available.

how to place holds page screen shot  detail page summer island

Click “Confirm hold.”

how to place holds. screen shot confirm hold screen.

You will now see the confirmation page.

how to place holds. screen shot summary screen.

You will receive an phone call or e-mail when the item is ready for you to pick up.


Changing your password

When signing into your account for the first time, be sure to change your password to something only you know, not something that will be easy for someone else to guess.

Scroll down your account page until you see the link “Change my password,” and click on that link.

Follow the prompts to change and confirm your password.

You are now ready to place holds!

how to place holds.screen shot change your password screen.

Ready to place your holds? Choose a selection below!

New fiction

New non-fiction

New DVDs

New large print

Children’s

No More Late Fees for Children’s Items


Children’s items are now fine-free!

The Hanover Public Library is pleased to announce that for 2023, we will not be charging late fees on overdue children’s items. You heard that right!

We know how important it is to introduce children to reading, so with that in mind our library Board has decided to stop charging fines on overdue children’s materials.

Families with children might borrow a lot of items at once so a daily fine per item that is overdue adds up very quickly, which is unfair. We want to remove that barrier because we know that introducing children to books at a young age sets them up for success in life. We want to encourage everyone to introduce their children to reading!

We will continue to charge for children’s items that are lost or damaged.

We will still be charging fines on young adult and adult materials so items are returned promptly and we can continue to serve everyone efficiently.

Mom and child reading a children's book together.

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Windows and Mirrors by Norma Graham

From The Hanover Post December 3rd, 2020 issue, Opinion Page

“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created and recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience.”

Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop

We can all see that hatred, intolerance, and bigotry exist in the world as destructive forces – and they also exist here in Canada. We are not immune to these insidious attitudes.  So what is the antidote to bigotry? How does a society nurture fairness and acceptance for all?

I often hear that education is the key, but I would be more specific: reading is the key to developing empathy and understanding. The folksinger Pete Seeger had the words “This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender” painted on his banjo.

I often think the same can be said for public libraries and the books they contain. When you read, you enter the mind of another. You see the world through their eyes. You feel their feelings, experience their life as they reveal it to you. When we read books that are about lives, cultures, and experiences different to our own, we take that new understanding into ourselves and it becomes part of us. This can begin when we are very young, and minds and hearts that have been opened by reading will not close against those who are different from us. Books are empathy generators.

If you would like to begin to bring more diversity into your reading, the library staff can help. You can read excellent books – both fiction and non-fiction – by authors of many cultures, nations, genders, and ways of thinking. Want to read about what it’s like to be autistic? Try Mark Haddon’s “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” or John Elder Robison’s “Look Me in the Eye”. Works by Canadian indigenous writers have surged onto the bestseller lists: from Richard Wagamese to Eden Robinson to Thomas King, you can read and experience life from a First Nations perspective. Writers of Asian ancestry like Roselle Lim, Kevin Kwan, and Souvankham Thammavongsa, winner of this year’s Giller Prize, are making waves in publishing as well. Mark Sakamoto’s “Forgiveness” is a top favourite among book clubs everywhere. Books by Toni Morrison, Colson Whitehead, Esi Edugyan, and Jesmyn Ward can show you how the world looks from the Black perspective. And wonderful books like “Let Me Tell You My Story” can tell you what it’s like to come to North America as a refugee with nothing but hope and courage.

Books can be mirrors, helping us to understand our own lives and experiences; but they can also be windows, through which we can see other lives, other experiences, and our common humanity. We at the library invite you to come look through some windows. The view is breathtaking.

Check out the following booklists for some reading inspiration.