No. All purchase decisions are made using the Santa Clara County Library District Materials Selection Policy. We also must consider budget and availability of stock from our vendors. The Library prioritizes purchasing upcoming titles and those published within the last 5 years.

Yes. Track the progress of your suggestion within your online library account on the Suggested Purchases page. You must be logged in to view this page. 

Yes, if there is space on your holds list, staff will place the item on hold for you. Each full access library card can have up to 12 requests at the same time. Limited Access cards can have up to 2 requests at the same time. 

The title will be sent to the first preferred Library location listed in your Account Preferences unless you indicate a different Library in the Notes field as you enter your title suggestion. 

More information about holds. 

You may request up to 5 items per month using the Submit a Suggestion form. 

The Santa Clara County Library District orders materials on an ongoing basis. For a title that is not yet published, we try to have the item available as close to the publication date as possible. For a title that is already published, depending on the publisher, it can take anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks before the item physically arrives at the Library. Titles usually appear in the catalog 2 to 4 weeks after a suggestion is approved.

The Santa Clara County Library District tries to purchase titles in a variety of formats, but some titles may not be produced in the requested configuration (e.g. DVD, large print, audiobook CD). As streaming services become more prevalent, some popular titles are never released on disc. 

Even if some titles appear to be available online for purchase, there are other restrictions that may apply. For example, some digital items are only available on certain platforms.  

Content from specific publishers such as Netflix, Audible and Amazon Prime are not available for libraries. Other publishers have embargoes that prevent libraries from purchasing copies of new releases. To learn more, visit https://ebooksforall.org/. 

While ISBNs are not a required field, including an ISBN will help the Selecting Librarian determine the specific title that you are requesting. ISBNs can be 10 or 13 digits.   

If you are an author and would like to suggest your published work to us, please review the Guidelines for Authors and follow the directions found on that page.

To check on the status of previous requests: 

1. Log in to your library account.
2. Click Log in / My SCCLD from the top right of any page.
3. Select My Library Dashboard from the drop-down menu.
4. Choose Suggested This Month from the dashboard menu on the left.
5. Or, click Suggested Purchases under Account Preferences on the My Settings page. 

Once submitted, suggestions for purchase cannot be canceled and all entries will count towards your monthly limit. However, you may delete titles from your automatically generated Suggested Purchases list by clicking the trash can icon.

Yes, library staff can assist you by placing a request. However, you must provide your name and library card number to request a hold and the suggested title will not appear on your Suggested Purchases list in your online library account.  

Our librarians will process a total of 10 requests for you per month. 

Your hold will be sent to the first preferred Library location listed in your Account Preferences unless you indicate a different Library in the Notes field as you enter your title suggestion. Please contact us  to change the pickup location for your hold. 

To change your preferred Library location: 

1. Log in to your library account.
2. Click Log in / My SCCLD from the top right of any page.
3. Select My Settings from the drop-down menu.
4. Find Holds and Pick Up Location under Account Preferences. 
5. Choose a library from the dropdown menu options. The first library listed appears as your holds pick up location when you suggest a purchase.