Policy Change at Austin TX Public Library Effective Today

What’s happening?
The number of items that a customer may reserve will be reduced from the current limit of 10 to 5.

Why?
Over the last year, the amount of holds transferred between branch libraries has jumped by nearly 50%. While the success and popularity of this service is appreciated by the Austin Public Library, this increase in workload has not been matched by an increase in staff or vehicles, resulting in a negative impact on the services we offer. Branch staff is unable to process all of the items requested in a timely fashion, resulting in a backlog of and extended wait times for requested items.