Using Your Library During the Closing

If your library has recently closed due to COVID-19 concerns, you can still use many of your library’s services.

Place holds

You can still place holds on items, and you will be in the queue for them when your library re-opens.

Try eBooks & online resources

If you haven’t yet tried out the eBook, eAudiobook, streaming media, and online research databases offered by your library now is a good time to try them out.

Learn more about ebooks & audio

Learn more about articles & databatases

If you are having trouble using these services, contact your library – many are still providing phone and online help.

What about due dates?

If your library has closed, please do not return items until your library reopens.

Check your account regularly as due dates could change as the situation progresses.

What’s New In Your Library Catalog

Better layout for phones and tablets

Your library catalog is now mobile-friendly! If you are using the catalog on your phone or tablet, you should now see an easier-to-read layout that adapts to your device.

If you are on a phone or tablet:

Tap the menu icon to log in and see My Account
Tap Search Options to limit your search to just your library, downloads, or articles.
After you search, tap Limit Search Results to filter your results by format, fiction or nonfiction, and more.

Easily see on-shelf items

If an item is on shelf in your library, you’ll see a green “on shelf” checkbox.

Otherwise, you’ll see that all copies are in use, or your library does not own the item. In both of these cases, you can place a hold so you’ll get the next available copy.

Get started with the mobile-friendly catalog

Find your library catalog

Green Hills Public Library District: Welcome to SWAN!

Today’s the Big Day!

The Green Hills Public Library District is now a full SWAN member, meaning patrons have access to a shared catalog that includes over 10,000,000 items across 97 libraries. Even better, patrons can have those items shipped directly to Green Hills in a matter of days or use a current Green Hills library card when visiting other SWAN libraries. Take a look at the new Green Hills Public Library District SWAN catalog. The look and feel are a little different than before, but functionality remains the same, including automatic renewals, access to your account, and placing holds or downloading materials. We hope you enjoy the benefits of being a SWAN library!

image of joseph miller and director jane jenkins on left and a child in an inflatable swan on the right — (Left) Green Hills Executive Director Jane Jenkins receives a welcome gift from SWAN Project Manager Joseph Miller and (Right) a Green Hills staff member reads *Harry Potter* in a very comfortable chair.

SWAN Library Services, established in 1974, is a consortium of suburban Chicago libraries stretching from Kaneville in the west to Harwood Heights and down to Beecher in the south. In addition to tech support for library staff, SWAN maintains a shared online public access catalog, a database of more 1.2 million patrons, and facilitates sharing of physical materials.

Green Hills Public Library District Joins SWAN January 29, 2019

Welcome, Green Hills Public Library District!

On January 29th, the Green Hills Public Library District will join the SWAN library consortium! With this new addition to the SWAN community comes access to over 10 million items at 97 libraries. SWAN and Green Hills staff have been hard at work preparing for the switch, and we want to share some information about what you can expect before and after January 29th:

Monday, January 28

While Green Hills patrons can check out items at the library, most features in the online catalog will be unavailable. This includes access to My Account, renewing items online, placing holds, and viewing what items are on shelf. Additionally, self checkout in the library will be disabled.

Don’t worry, all of your existing holds and checkouts will transfer over!

Tuesday, January 29

The big day! All online features will be available once starting when the library opens. Starting today, Green Hills patrons will use the new SWAN catalog, which can be accessed the same way you reached it before. The new catalog will look a little different, but will function the same way. In fact, the biggest difference will be the appearance of items at other SWAN libraries.

Some tips for those new to SWAN

Although many Green Hills patrons are familiar with SWAN, we thought we’d share a few pointers:

If you see an item in the catalog that belongs to another library, you can place a hold and the item will be delivered to your library a few days after it’s available.
You can update your notification preferences in My Account > Personal Information > Preferences. For additional help, refer to our YouTube tutorial.
Resource sharing is great, but we know patrons want access to their library’s new materials first. Our dynamic holds system prioritizes local patrons getting local materials, so you’ll still have access to Green Hills materials before patrons at other SWAN libraries.
Your Green Hills Public Library District card can be used at any other public library in SWAN.

If you have any questions about SWAN, don’t hesitate to reach out to the staff at your library!

2019 Membership Map

We are welcoming a new library to our SWAN family. Green Hills Public Library District joins SWAN in January 2019.

In 2018 we welcomed 19 libraries and had one library, Brookfield Zoo Library, leave the consortium. With the addition of Green Hills, our membership is 97 strong.

SWAN Membership Map 2019 [pdf]

Welcome to SWAN, Green Hills Public Library District!

On January 29th, 2019, the Green Hills Public Library District will join the SWAN Library Consortium. While SWAN and Green Hills staff are busy working to make this transition as seamless as possible, it’s important to share a few markers you may see along the way.

Partial Freeze on New Items: January 18 – January 29

New materials cannot be added to the catalog . This means you may see a delay in availability for any titles released during this period. After January 29, new materials will be available as normal.

Checkout-Only Period: January 28

The back-end system will be limited while the Green Hills library data is loaded into SWAN. You will still be able to check out materials during this time, but other activity will be suspended. Additionally, items you check out will not be reflected in My Account in the online catalog until the following day. See the chart below for a list of services that will be available and unavailable.

January 28, 2019
Can Do	Can’t Do
Search for materials in the online catalog	See availability of materials in the online catalog
Check out materials at the circulation desk	Place holds
Access e-resources like OverDrive, Axis360, and Hoopla through those apps/websites	Log in to My Account
	Pay bills
	Check items in
	Download electronic materials or place holds directly from the library’s online catalog
	Receive materials delivered from another library
	Renew materials (auto-renewals will be suspended for these dates, but will resume on January 29)

19 Kane, DuPage libraries join SWAN, gain access to nearly 10 million items

Library users from 19 public, private, school, and academic libraries are now part of the System Wide Automated Network (SWAN). The library network combines the collections of 97 libraries into a single, searchable public web catalog of nearly 10 million items. Libraries in SWAN share items with each other through the catalog, with many items available for delivery from one library to another via a State-supported courier delivery system. Library cardholders within the 97 libraries will find it easy to visit nearby library or request items for pick-up at their home library or another library participating in SWAN’s pick-up anywhere service.

Countdown to 19 Libraries Joining SWAN

A West Chicago Public Library Reader shares the excitement of an expanded SWAN catalog.

We are in our final days of preparation and data loading in adding 19 libraries to our SWAN family. Our March press release provided an overview of the extended SWAN network.

As you visit SWAN libraries, we hope that you continue to report on #SWANspotting throughout our extended network of 97 libraries. We’ve got a few more to share from our library visits in the past week.

Glen Ellyn Public Library – Spreading Our Wings

Glen Ellyn Public Library’s website provides an update for library users on joining SWAN. Remodeling circulation and meeting spaces is also underway, making the library extremely busy and exciting. Stop in for a #SWANselfie

One patron found time to relax with a good book and a comfortable reading spot. Happy #SWANspotting!

#SWANspotting

Keep an eye out for inflatable swans. If you follow Twitter or Instagram, consider using the #SWANspotting hashtag.

Residents of St. Charles experienced #SWANspotting on March 10th at the annual St. Patrick’s Parade. The St. Charles Public Library staff greeted the community and announced joining the SWAN network on May 1st. Congratulations to the the Library! They took 2nd prize honors for their entry. Along with SWANs in leprechaun attire, library staff promoted the expanded library network and featured “more of what you love.”

Be on the lookout for inflatable swans at your library. If you see one, take a selfie and announce your #SWANspotting adventure! We will feature your entries on this website.