Why can't I connect to an Online Database from Home using my patron barcode?
Does your barcode start with 29999 (Boston Public Library's prefix)? If so, you will not have access to some of the databases provided by Metrowest Massachusetts Regional Library System, which uses the barcode prefix to determine which list of databases should be available to you.
Do you live in a town other than Brookline? The databases provided by the Public Library of Brookline are available only to Brookline residents, as coded in your borrower record. We pay a licensing fee to the database vendors based on the population of the Town of Brookline, so it would violate the licensing agreement if we let the residents of other towns access these databases. Please check the web site of the town you live in; it is possible that they also provide access to the database, or to some that we do not.
Do you not live in a Minuteman Library Network (MLN) community? Only residents of the 41 MLN communities, as coded in your patron records, have access to the databases provided by MLN, for the same licensing reasons outlined in point 2 above.
I do live in Brookline or an MLN community and still do not have access to a database to which I should have access? Call library staff by phone at 617-730-2369 or by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and ask that they check your patron type code. It may be incorrect or out-of-date. If we do not have your current address, we will need to ask you to bring proof of address the next time you come in.