App Features
This app is a way to keep track of your library account and is not a replacement for our other digital borrowing apps , opens a new windowlike Libby, Hoopla, and Kanopy.
- Find out when your materials are ready to pick up, due, or overdue.
- See if you owe any fines on your materials.
- Search our catalog and check out digital books and resources or place holds on physical materials for pickup.
- Browse books, audiobooks, movies, and TV shows that are new to the Library.
- Learn about events at your home library and other library locations.
- The app defaults to your home library location, but you can change the settings for any location you prefer or even multiple locations. (You may also change this setting on our website, under Holds and Pickup Location.)
- Any shelves you’ve created in your account on the Library website also appear on your shelves on the app.
- Read through the newest staff recommendation lists and check out materials on those lists.
What's New
- July 11, 2023: Self-Checkout and Multi-Accounts
- You can now self-checkout materials directly from the app! Find an item you like on the shelf, then tap the shopping cart icon on the app to begin the checkout process.
- Link multiple accounts within the app with a new multi-accounts feature! Link accounts of your children, partners, or other family members to make it easier to pick up their holds and manage their accounts. Tap the library card icon in the app to add an account.
Library App FAQs
-
Yes! Starting July 11, 2023, app now includes a self-checkout feature. Tap the shopping cart button in the upper right corner of the app and follow the onscreen instructions to scan the item’s barcode.
At the present time, only CHPL-owned items may be checked out through the app. Items requested through Search Ohio & Ohio Link must be borrowed through one of the Library’s self-checkout machines.
-
Online resource and research database access is not a feature of CHPL's mobile app.
To access these resources, visit https://chpl.org/online-resources/ on your web browser.
-
The Library's app was built specifically for iPhone (iOS 11 and above) and Android devices (7.0 Nougat and above.)
The app is not currently designed to support iPads. We regularly monitor device usage and may revisit support at a future point. Instead, we suggest visiting our website, CHPL.org, through your iPad's web browser.
If you still prefer to use the Library's app on your iPad, you may do so through the iPad's compatibility mode. Compatibility mode mimics the iPhone app experience on the iPad by stretching the screen to 1x or 2x the size of the iPhone screen. Running the app through compatibility mode means that you might experience some issues that we are not able to actively support, which include layout, scanner, and other related issues.
Due to the variety of different mobile devices, users interested in using the app’s self checkout feature may need to exercise some trial and error to determine the necessary distance and focus required for scanning items when checking them out on their device. Library staff member are available at all library locations for assistance.
-
After downloading the app, open the app for the first time. The first time you use the app, you will be be asked to enter your library login and password.
To log in to the app, you must first create an account on our website, CincinnatiLibrary.org. To do so, click "Log In/My CHPL" in the upper right corner of any page on the website.
Once you are logged in to the app, you will be able to see the status of your checkouts, your holds, any fees, and other account information.
-
No, our new app is not currently available on Kindle devices. To access your account information on a Kindle, visit CincinnatiLibrary.org in a browser then click "Log in/My CHPL" in the top right corner of any page.
It is also possible to borrow library books, magazines, and other digital items on your Kindle using our vendors' apps. These apps include the Overdrive app, opens a new window to access library eBooks.
If you have further questions about accessing library books on your Kindle, please contact us 24 hours a day.