Frequently Asked Questions

Please see our Hours & Locations page.

Apply for a library card through our Get a Library Card page.

Click on My Account/Renewals link at the top of the Library’s home page. Enter your library barcode followed by your PIN (usually the last four digits of your phone number).

Your password/PIN is usually the last four digits of your phone number.

For more privacy, you can also change your password. To do this, log on as usual and then select ‘Change your log on’ at the bottom of your account page. Select ‘Change your password’ and type your old (current) password followed by your new password and type your password again to verify it; click on the Save button.

You can also create a username to use instead of your library barcode.

eBooks can be borrowed for free online from several different eBook providers which the Library subscribes to. Click on Borrow It and then ‘eReads & Audiobooks’; choose an eBook provider (CloudLibrary, Hoopla or OverDrive) and set up a free account in order to borrow eBooks.

For help setting up, print out the instructional guide or watch the video tutorial that accompanies the eBook provider link.

From any Coquitlam Public Library webpage, use the search box located at the top of the page. Use the drop-down menu to select the type of search you want – title, author or subject. Type in your search term and hit enter or click on the search icon.

For a complete list please see our Borrowing Policies on our Borrowing page.

Request a book using Illume Interlibrary Loans.

Illume is a provincial service where you can look for materials in nearly all of the province's public, college and institute libraries, and request items to be sent to your home library.

See our Interlibrary Loans page for more information.

Suggest that the Library purchase the item by filling in the Suggest a Purchase online form. Purchase requests are more likely to be filled if they are less than one year old and of broad general interest.

Please note, we do not process suggestions for items that are not yet published.

We do not place holds on your behalf if your suggested item is already available or on order in the catalogue.

Most titles arrive between 4-6 months after the title is announced. Some titles arrive earlier, others may take up to a year or more if there is a delay in publication.

Yes, we accept donations of books and audio-visual materials that are recently published, of popular interest and in excellent condition. We review all donations according to our purchased material standards; items that do not meet those standards may be sold in our book sales or discarded.

We will accept up to 20 items at a time, delivered to either of our two branches. For larger donations, we ask that you please email the Manager, E-Branch and Collections. No tax receipts will be issued for donated materials. Once received, the donations are the exclusive property of Coquitlam Public Library.

We do not accept the following:

• Water damaged, yellowed, moldy or mildewed items
• Textbooks and workbooks
• Encyclopedia sets
• Serialized publications, including newspapers, magazines, etc.
• VHS / cassette tapes
• Mixed media kits
• Books in languages other than English, French, Chinese, Farsi, Korean or Spanish.

At the Poirier branch, the book drops are outside the building to the right of the entrance.

At the City Centre branch, the book drops are outside the building to the right of the entrance as well as inside the parking level above the library (near the elevator).

All book drops are available while the Library is closed.

You can park in the parkade directly above the library branch for up to 4 hours free-of-charge.

To extend your free parking beyond that, you must get a parking pass from the City Centre branch Help Desk. The parking pass will give you up to an additional four hours free parking.

Library users can only park directly above the library branch; parking in the Henderson mall parkade while using the Library will result in getting ticketed by Diamond Parking Service. The Library is not responsible for any parking ticket disputes.

Registered book clubs can reserve a book club set through our Kitkeeper system. For more information about book clubs and borrowing please see our Book Club page or email bookclub@coqlibrary.ca.

Please refer to our Print & Document Services page.

The Library does not currently offer exam invigilation.

For assistance finding an exam invigilation service, contact us by email at Ask the Library.