Ngā Pātai me ngā Whakautu - Library FAQs

We are making changes to the system Thames-Coromandel District Libraries uses for our library catalogue, customer records, and various other library services. Your library membership details are currently held in data centres in Christchurch and Auckland. From Friday, 17 May, this data will be moved to data centres in Melbourne and Adelaide. During this migration, some library services may experience disruptions.

Starting from 8pm on 15 May, access to your library account and the library’s electronic resources will be unavailable for approximately 36 hours while these changes are being made.

From 17 May, your library membership information will be stored in secure data centres in Australia. There is no further action you need to take if you consent to this change.

All of our libraries will remain open during the data migration. You will still be able to use all library services, including borrowing books, using Wi-Fi and the internet, and attending events and programmes. Please be aware there may be some temporary changes to book circulation processes. Digital books or content requiring authentication will not be available for a time.

You may notice a couple of changes at your local library:

• Each library will have only one computer operating during the server migration at the issues desk.

• Our catalogue computers will be turned off, so electronic services such as searching for books on our catalogue and browsing our databases will be unavailable.

• Library services which require logging in with your library card details will be unavailable. This includes your online library account, ePlatform and other digital library services.

This change is happening across New Zealand - we're part of a national consortium of public libraries (with 41 other councils) called Kōtui, which is managed by the National Library of New Zealand, within the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). All libraries that are part of Kōtui are making this change.

This change is to ensure that we can continue to offer modern library services and maintain robust security of library and customer information. In the constantly evolving and fast-moving world of technology services, it’s really important that our library management systems are future-proofed. In addition to continuing to provide a secure service to our customers, making these changes now also means that our systems will benefit from future enhancements.

Thames-Coromandel District Libraries is a member of a New Zealand-wide consortium of public libraries called Kōtui, which is managed by the National Library of New Zealand.

As part of the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), the National Library followed the expected project protocols to ensure that all systems and vendors involved complied with DIA security requirements.

The National Library shared project documentation with Thames-Coromandel District Libraries, and based on this information, our management team and the other members (40 local councils) of the Kōtui consortium agreed to the infrastructure change.

The information you provided when you joined the library is stored in your library customer record, including:

• Your name

• Date of birth

• Home address

• Phone numbers

• Email address

• Borrowing history

Our library has a policy to remove customer data if the library card is not used for a period of 2 years.

If you would like your data to be removed from our systems sooner, please get in touch with us to request this.

Please note that if there are any outstanding fees owing on the account, these will need to be paid before the account can be closed.

If you do not wish for your data to be part of this move, you will need to cancel your library membership no later than Monday 6 May.

The new data centre meets ISO international standards for security and reliability. Library information held there will be accessed via an encrypted virtual private network and will not be exposed to the public Internet. We are confident that library information, including membership data, will remain secure, and we hope this provides reassurance for our customers.

If you do not wish for your data to be part of this move, you will need to cancel your library membership no later than Monday 6 May. We cannot make any exceptions to library membership information being moved to the Australia-based data centre. Note that while borrowing is not possible without membership, many in-library services will remain available.

You can have up to 20 items out on your card.

Our books and audiobooks are issued for three weeks; DVDs, magazines and kits are issued for one week.

Use our catalogue or our TCDC Libraries app to check your library account online. You'll need to log in using your library card number and your password.

We can provide you with a printed due date slip when you take out books.

We can send you a reminder by email three days before your items are due back.  Please update your email address to sign up for this service. 

• Log into your account via our online catalogue
• Click the 'Log In' button in the top right corner.
• You'll need your library card user ID (that's the number under the barcode on the back of your library card) and your password.
• Click 'My Account' and then choose the 'Checkouts' tab.
• Tick the items you'd like to renew, then click the 'renew' button.

Other ways:

• Check your account with the TCDC Libraries app, or
• Renew items by asking a staff member, sending us an email, or giving us a call with your library card number handy.

Be aware, you may not be able to renew some items; they may have been requested by another patron, reached their maximum renewal limit, or we may just need to confirm with you that you're willing to renew an item that costs to borrow. 

All items can be placed on our returns counters or slots inside the library, when libraries are open.

When our libraries are closed, return items through our book drop slots.

No! Our District Libraries do not charge fines on items that are returned overdue.

You can read more about this here.

Contact us immediately. We can issue a free replacement card.

You can pay in person at your library (we take cash and Eftpos, but not credit cards) or via internet banking.  Please let us know about your online payment so that we can remove the charge from your library account.

Click here for more information on our loan periods and charges.

To reset your account password:

• Go to our catalogue.
• Click on 'Log In,' in the top right corner.
• Select 'Forgot my PIN.'
• Enter your library card number, and a recovery link will be emailed to the email address on file at your library.
• If the email doesn't arrive within a few minutes, check your spam folder. If it's not in your spam folder, contact us.

If you have any problems, please contact your local library for assistance.

If you're using a computer, visit our online catalogue and log in at the top right corner of the page. Once you're logged in, use the tabs to view your personal information, checkouts, holds, and money owing. In the checkouts tab, you can renew items and browse your borrowing history for the past three years. 

We usually also offer an app for Apple and Android devices, to help you manage your account and browse our catalogue. Unfortunately, the TCDC Libraries app is unavailable until further notice. You can learn more about this on our apps page.

• Log into your account via our online catalogue
• Click the 'Log In' button in the top right corner.
• Log in using your library card user ID (that's the number under the barcode on the back of your library card) and your password.
• Click 'Place Hold' next to the item you want to reserve.
• Choose one of our three district libraries to collect your book from. 
• We will contact you when the book is ready to collect.

You can also check your account with the TCDC Libraries app.

Check our Library Charges page for more details.

If the item you want is only available at a Community Library, you may need to check with us to see if that library will lend that item.

We usually have two apps available for our patrons, to help you get the most of our library collections - TCDC Libraries and ePlatform by Wheelers. Unfortunately, the TCDC Libraries app is unavailable until further notice. You can learn more about these apps on our apps page.

We also have several online resources available for library patrons and visitors. Check out our online resources page to see what's on offer.

Manage your library account and browse our catalogue here.

- Check out the Help page on ePlatform.

- ePlatform has step-by-step guides for setting up the ePlatform app on different devices.

- Borrow your reserved title automatically when it's your turn, by flicking the switch in your ePlatform settings. Your reserved eBooks and eAudio will check out onto your account immediately, instead of waiting on hold for you to log in and check them out yourself.

• Log into ePlatform and go into your Settings.
•  Under Loan and Reserve Settings, flip to toggle to blue for Reserve ready auto borrow. 

Our libraries run a range of events every week. Sign up for our monthly Library eNewsletters or check our events calendar to see what's on. 

We also post updates about all of our upcoming events and programmes on our Facebook page.

We offer a range of additional services to assist our locals and visitors. Check out the Library Services page on our website to find out more.

VIP Cards are loyalty cards for patrons who borrow new adult fiction, DVDs, talking books and kits. These items cost $2.50 to borrow. Every time you borrow one of these pay items, you get one stamp on your VIP Card. Eventually, you'll have enough stamps to borrow one of these items free!

Ask our team for a VIP Card next time you visit us.

Search our online catalogue, or ask one of our staff members. 

Yes! Your library card for Thames-Coromandel District Libraries works at all three of our libraries - Thames Library, Tairua Library and Mercury Bay Library. You can place a hold on most items at these libraries, and pick up at your nearest District Library branch.

We have reciprocal lending arrangements with Whangamatā Community Library and Coromandel Community Library - using your District Libraries card, you can place holds on specific items from the collections at these two libraries, and pick up your holds at your nearest Thames-Coromandel District Libraries branch.

If you'd like to borrow directly from a Community Library, you'll need to sign up for a library card with them. There's more information about the libraries on the Coromandel here.

We welcome suggestions of new books for our collection. You can fill in a form in our libraries, or online.