The library is now a member of BCCLS!

BCCLS members have access to more than 5 million items in 78 libraries. They can walk into any library and check out available materials using their SOPL card. They can also place items from other libraries on hold and have them sent to SOPL for pickup, or arrange to have materials sent to any other member library for pickup there.

Members also have access to various e-resources.

You must present either your South Orange library card, a photo ID, or your library card scanned into the BCCLS app at any BCCLS library. We cannot look up accounts by name.

Logging into BCCLS requires two numbers: your 14-digit library card number beginning with 29507 (entered without spaces) and a password.

If you’re a patron with a card registered before Nov. 1, 2023, your password has been reset to 1234. You can keep that password or change it once you log in for the first time.

If you registered for a library card after Nov. 1, 2023, ask us to create a password for you or use the Forgot Password link to have a link sent to your email address.

1. Log into BCCLS website with your card number and password, or use BCCLS app.
2. Search for item you want to request.
3. If the item is available, choose red “Place Request” button
4. If you want the item delivered to a library other than South Orange, choose it from the drop-down menu. South Orange is the default option.
5. Click “Submit Request.”

If the item is available in consortium, one of the libraries will deliver it to designated spot and you will receive an email once it is ready. You have a maximum of 3 business days to pick item up.

Not yet; we are still setting up the space. All BCCLS requests must be picked up at 298 Walton Ave. for now.

When our patron accounts were transferred to the BCCLS system, a setting was included that needs to be undone. We are working to do this on all accounts, but if your account is still affected, email or call us and we’ll take care of it.

This is the complete list of member libraries, but the libraries closest to us that are also BCCLS members are:

Bloomfield
Glen Ridge
Livingston
Maplewood
Millburn
Montclair
West Orange

Yes, search for “BCCLS” in your app store.

eBCCLS provides access to digital books, audiobooks, and magazines, using the Libby app on your smartdevice. (The app is exactly the same as we’ve been using up to now with the eLibraryNJ collection.)

ELibraryNJ will no longer be in service as of December 19, 2023. Any titles that you had checked out at that time will remain accessible until the lending period is over.

To add eBCCLS to your Libby account, follow these steps:

Tap Menu (3 horizontal lines in middle of app footer,) then Add Library
Find Your Library: Use the Search Box to find your library by Name, City, or Zip (Name is recommended)
Tap the BCCLS Card option
Follow the Prompts to add your library card information

Yes, and you can return our materials to any other member library.

ReBL (Reciprocal Borrowing and Lending) is a non-binding consortium of roughly two dozen libraries in Essex County. We are still a member library, and with the ReBL sticker placed on your library card, you can continue to use the other libraries according to each library’s policy.

It’s worth noting that several libraries in ReBL are also members of BCCLS (see question about local libraries above), so you wouldn’t need anything beyond your library card to access them. For the others (Newark, Orange, East Orange, etc.), you still need the ReBL sticker.

Yes, we will still place interlibrary loan requests through JerseyCat, the statewide catalog, provided the materials are not available from a BCCLS library.

If they are not found in a BCCLS library, we will place the request in JerseyCat, which expands the search to the whole state, and if necessary, out of state.

NOTE: You can still place your own requests on JerseyCat and we will approve them, provided they are not available in BCCLS. If a BCCLS library has the material, we will cancel your JerseyCat request and place it in BCCLS for you.

Overdue fines or lost/damaged charges stemming from SOPL material can be paid for in person at the library, in cash or by credit card through the BCCLS website (there is a 50-cent surcharge for online transactions). We do not take credit cards in person.

We will accept in-person cash payment for other libraries’ material for overdue fines only; lost/damaged material must be paid for by check/money order or online. We cannot accept cash for other libraries’ lost/damaged material.

BCCLS will automatically renew your items, unless they are on hold for another patron, they have reached the renewal limit, or your card is blocked.

Note: We are unable to extend due dates for other libraries’ material if they have reached any of the above conditions.