Tools - Tech Tips

Get Ready for a New Online Catalog

The Upper Hudson Library System (UHLS) is launching a brand new online catalog starting January 1, 2026. The new catalog is called Vega Discovery and has both a desktop and mobile version.

In this post, we’ll go over the new features of the catalog, as well as give instructions on how to use features from the old catalog.

The screenshots below show the desktop view. It may be slightly different on mobile devices.

My Account

To login to your library account, click on the person icon in the top right corner.

Screenshot showing the words Log In in a red box in the top right corner.

Next, enter the full number on the back of your library card in the barcode field. Your PIN is by default the last four digits of your phone number. If you get an error and can’t login, please contact the library.

Once you have logged in, click on your name in the top right corner. You can quickly access your checkouts, holds, and fine/fees on your account by clicking/tapping the number above each heading. To view your full account, click on your name.

My Bookshelf Tab

The first tab is the My Bookshelf Tab. Within this tab, you will find checkouts, holds, fines/fees, and profile.

On the profile tab, contact details are displayed along with your library card’s expiration date, your notification preference, and your preferred pickup location. At the bottom of this section, there is an option to Keep Reading History. If this box is checked, you can access a list of all items you have checked out on your account. Note: this only applies to a history going forward. The only other field that can be edited is preferred pickup location. To do this, click/tap on Edit Profile and then choose your preferred pickup location. If any of the other information is incorrect, please contact the library.

On the checkouts tab, you’ll see the checked out date, the due date, how many times an item has been renewed, and the option to renew the item. You will also see the total number of items you have checked out.

On the holds tab, you will see the total number of holds, your place in line on the hold list, the pickup location of the hold (which you can edit by clicking/taping the pencil icon), and the option to cancel or freeze the hold.

Screenshot showing the title Widow's Point with the place in line 3-Waiting underneath the title, the pickup location as East Greenbush and the option to cancel the hold via a dark blue button.

The fines and fees tab will show any fines or fines you have on your card along with details about the fine or fee.

Bookmarks Tab

On the bookmarks tab, you can find items you have saved to view later. To save an item for later, search for the item, and then click/tap on the For Later icon.

Screenshot showing a bookmark icon with the words For Later underneath it highlighted by a red square around the button.

Once items are on your Bookmarks tab, you can place holds on them by checking the box next to the title and then clicking/tapping the Place Holds button. You can also quickly view the item details in the future by clicking/tapping the title. When clicking/tapping the For Later button, you have the option to save to a list as well. To see your lists, scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Screenshot showing three lists: books, for later, and movies to requests, with three dots in the right corner of each and a share button on the bottom left.

If you would like to delete or rename a list, click/tap on the three dots in the corner of the list details. To share via email or by copied link, click/tap on the share icon. Bookmarks can be accessed through the account area or by clicking/tapping the bookmark icon in the top right corner.

Saved Searches Tab

If there is a search you perform frequently, you can save the search to your account. To save a search, perform the search, and then click/tap the Save Search button.

Screenshot showing an example search of Stephen King with Save Search in the top right with a red box around the words Save Search.

You can edit and delete saved searches using the same process as editing lists mentioned above.

Reading History Tab

Your reading history will be displayed here, if you have opted in. To see if you have opted in, click on the My Bookshelf tab, and then on profile. Scroll down to the bottom and check if the box next to Keep Reading History is checked. You can sort the list via a variety of criteria including checkout date, author and title, both ascending and descending.

Searching

To search for an item, click into the search box on the catalog homepage. If you are not on the homepage, you can click the orange magnifying glass icon in the top right corner.

Screenshot with an orange square with a white magnifying glass icon in the middle.

You can search for materials using keyword, author, title, subject, and more. Once you have searched, you can refine your search using the panel on the left. On mobile devices, you can tap on Refine Results.

Mobile view:

Screenshot showing mobile example with the words refine results with a red square around the words.

Desktop view:

screenshot showing refine results to the left of the image with availability, date, format, age group, contributors, concepts, language and locations underneat the words refine results.

Availability has two options: At library, which are physical books at the library, and online, which are ebooks and digital audiobooks available through Libby or hoopla. If you select At library, the search is refined to books at the library that are not currently checked out.

Date is the publication date of the item. Format is the type of item you’re looking for (for example, book, DVD, Large Print, etc.). Age is helpful if you’re looking for items geared for certain age groups such as Teen, Juvenile, etc. Language limits to a particular language.

The Concept limiter is for subjects. For example, when searching for cats and I want to limit by concept, I am shown these options:

screenshot showing the word concepts with example concepts underneat: cats-fiction, cats-juvenile fiction, cats-comic books, strps, etc, and electronic books.

Next to each is the number of items within that particular concept/subject.

Locations allows you to limit your search to a particular library or libraries within the Upper Hudson Library System.

Conclusion

The new catalog is going live January 1, 2026. When you first visit the site, you may see a popup asking about your cookie preferences. You can click x to exit or manage to change your preferences.

If you have any questions about the new catalog, please contact the library.

Two Simple Methods to Remove AI Overviews on Google

If you have used Google to search within the past year, you’ve likely noticed that the first thing that appears is an AI overview.

It takes up a lot of screen space, and its summaries are not always correct.

There are a few ways you can hide the AI summary. In this post, we’ll go over two methods you can try.

The first is to add -ai after your search term. If you were searching for “what is the first sign of spring” type in “what is the first sign of spring -ai” (without the quotation marks).

screenshot showing a google search field with what is the first sign of spring -ai in the search field.

The second method is a little bit more complex, but you only have to do it once as an initial setup. This method is only available when using the Google Chrome browser on a desktop or laptop computer.

Open Chrome and click the three lines in the top right corner. Next, click on Settings. From there, click on Search Engine in the left menu. For the next step, click manage search engine and site search. Scroll down to Site Search and then click Add. In the Name and Shortcut fields, choose whichever custom name you’d like. In the URL field, type in: https://www.google.com/search?udm=14&q=%s and then click save. To make it your default search engine, click on the three dots next to the new entry and click on make default.

screenshot showing the settings when editing a custom search engine.

To search using this new search setting, click into the address bar. Next, type in your search term and then hit the enter key.

screenshot showing a close up of the Google Chrome browser's address bar with "what are the first signs of spring" entered in the address bar.

Currently, the ability to add a custom search URL is only available in the desktop version of the Chrome browser.

Do you have another method to hide the AI summary? Have you experienced incorrect AI summaries? Let us know in the comments!

A New Way to Print from Any Device with Princh

Starting March 11, the library will offer a new service called Princh for wireless printing. In the past, we had used a service called PrinterOn.

Princh is accessible on any device including your computer, smartphone, or tablet.

Selecting an Item to Print

To begin, visit our printing portal.

Click/tap “click here to select and upload a file” to choose the item you are printing. Accepted file types include Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc), Apple’s iWork (Pages, Numbers, etc), images/screenshots and more. Check out the full list of accepted file types here.

After selecting the item you are printing, there are more options.

Screenshot showing the file name of what is being printed. The settings button is next to the file name.

Changing Print Settings

To change the displayed language, tap English in the top right corner for over 10 language options. If you would like to change the number of copies, the color settings, the paper size, or more print settings, click/tap on the blue and white gear icon next to the file name of what you are printing.

Screenshot showing the settings screen, allowing settings such as black and white or color, number of copies, page range and duplex options to be changed.

There are a variety of options available to change including paper size, color or black white white, page range and more. You can also preview the document or remove it if you change your mind about printing it. Also displayed is the total number of pages and cost of the print job. After you have made your changes, click/tap on the green accept button.

Next, click/tap on Accept Terms and Conditions check box and click/tap on the continue button.

Enter your email address to continue. You will get a conformation email once the job has been processed. Use the same email address at the print release station at the library to pay for and release your print job.

After the job has been processed successfully, a status of ready is displayed in the print queue next to the file name.

Screenshot showing item has successfully submitted to be printed.

Once you’ve received the ready conformation, head on over to the print release station at the library, located next to the Reference Desk.

Our printing prices remain the same:

Black & White, single-sided: 15¢ per page
Black & White, double-sided: 30¢ per sheet
Color, single-sided: 50¢ per page

Have you tried out Princh yet? Let us know in the comments.

Goodreads: A Fantastic, Free Way to Track Books Read

It’s happened to the best of us. You found a book at the library or bookstore that sounds great based on the blurb. You start reading and it seems familiar and can’t help but wonder, have I read this before? With Goodreads, you can easily check to see if you have already read a book.

Goodreads is a website that helps you keep track of what books you have read and what books you would like to read. There are also many other features of the website (and app!) that include reviews, book giveaways, recommendations, and more.

Getting Started

You have the options of creating an account with Amazon, Apple, Facebook, or your email address. Note: the Goodreads website and app have slightly different layouts. In this post, I will be covering the website, which is accessible in a browser on mobile or desktop devices.

Shelves

Once your account is created, you can start adding books to your shelves. By default, you are started with the standard shelves: Read, Currently Reading and Want to Read. You can make additional custom shelves as well by clicking or tapping on the add shelf button. For example, I have a shelf called Upcoming Releases, for books I want to read that haven’t been released yet.

Searching and Browsing

Screenshot showing search field auto populating results.

To find a book to add to your shelves, start typing in the search box. Results will auto populate based on what you’ve typed. When you see the book you’re looking for, click or tap on the title. When searching for an author or something with more than one result, hit enter on your keyboard or tap on the magnifying glass icon to see all the results.

Once you get to the results screen, you can limit by title or author. There are also other ways to filter your search by using the tabbed categories for the results. Groups are a social feature of Goodreads where users discuss certain authors, genres, topics, etc. The Quotes tab displays results for quotes (from books, authors, etc.) featuring the search term. People displays users with that search term. This is how you can search for people you know that may be on Goodreads. Listopia displays user created lists featuring that search term.

Book Listings

The main page for a book displays the average rating from Goodreads readers, a summary of what the book is about, the genres readers have tagged it, the length, and when it was first published.

On a listing for a book, there is the option to add the book to one or more of your shelves. Clicking or tapping on want to read adds the book to your to-read shelf. To add it to a different shelf, click or tap on the arrow next to want to read. Since Amazon owns Goodreads, if the book is available on Kindle format, the Kindle price is displayed. Adding a book to any of your shelves other than want to read or currently reading automatically marks the book as read.

To write a review, click on the number of star you want to give the book. From there, choose whether or not to add a review in addition to the rating.

Screenshot showing five stars being rated on a book listing.

Scrolling down farther on the book listing page, you’ll see if any of your Goodreads friends have read the book and beneath that, reviews from Goodreads readers. You can filter by the number of stars a reviewer gave, search for a word or phrase used in a review, sort by when the review was written, which edition, and the language of the review written.

Find New Books to Read

There are many ways to find books to read with Goodreads. I have found great suggestions by searching for a book I enjoyed and on the book’s listing, scrolling down to readers also enjoyed.

Screenshot of readers also enjoyed with similar titles.

Once you have rated a decent amount of books, you can view recommendations from Goodreads based on titles you previously rated. On the top bar, click on browse and then recommendations.

Screenshot showing Goodreads recommendations page.

Here are recommendations sorted by your shelves. Mouse over or lightly tap on a book cover to display a brief summary of that book. There is also a because you added field, which shows why Goodreads recommended that title.

Screenshot showing example of close up of book.

Genres

Another great way to find books is browsing a particular genre. Click on browse and then genres. There is the option to add your favorite genres for easy access.

Screenshot showing historical fiction genre page.

Within the genre, there are new releases within that genre, related genres, blog posts from Goodreads, giveaways for books in that genre, and the most read books that week in that genre. Mousing over any of the book covers shows the same synopsis discussed earlier.

On the genre pages, there are also related reader lists and the most popular books overall in that genre. Also on the genre pages are new releases from authors you’ve read.

Friends and Communities

If your friends or family are on Goodreads, you can send them a friend request. Once they accept, you are able to see the books they’ve read and rated, along with any book reviews they’ve written.

Once you have added friends, you will see updates on the Goodreads homepage when friends have added a new book or entered a giveaway.

In addition to being able to add friends, you can follow your favorite authors and get updates when they release a new book. There are certain authors that have added the books they have read or are currently reading.

Giveaways, Awards, Blogs, and More

But wait, there’s more!

Goodreads has frequent book giveaways! Enter to win copies of books.

Every year, Goodreads holds their annual Readers’ Choice Awards where readers vote for their favorite book within particular categories.

There is a great news and interviews section, where they highlight upcoming new book releases and author interviews.

Readers can challenge themselves by entering the yearly book challenge with the goal of reading a certain number of books. Throughout the year, Goodreads gives you progress on how you’re doing towards reaching your goal. For example, they tell you “you are three books ahead of schedule” based on how many books you’ve read so far that year and how many you have challenged yourself to read.

Last but not least, the library has our own Goodreads profile where library staff rate and review books they’ve enjoyed.

Have you used Goodreads? Let us know in the comments!

A Quick Way To Name a Song With Your Smartphone

You’re listening to the radio or watching TV and a song comes on that you don’t know. You like the song, but how can you find out what it is? Luckily, there are built in features on your smartphone that allow you to name a song in seconds!

Apple

Screenshot of Shazam listening to identify a song

Starting with the release of iOS 14.2 in 2020, Apple devices offer built in song recognition, just by asking Siri, the built-in digital assistant. In your Siri settings, if you have “Hey Siri” enabled, simply say, “Hey Siri, what song is this?” when a song is playing. Another way to quickly activate Siri is to hold down the Home Screen button iPhones with a home button or hold down the power button on iPhone 9 and later.

You’ll get a screen that Siri is listening and then a screen will pop up with the name of the song.

To see a history of songs you have identified, download the Shazam app from the App Store. To see more detailed instructions, check out this helpful article from Apple.

Android

On Android phones, there is a similar method. Touch and hold the home button or say “Hey Google” and then ask, “What’s this song?”

Google Assistant will name the song and give you options to share the song, watch the video on YouTube, or add to a playlist on YouTube Music. Google has written a helpful article with more detailed instructions.

Use the Google App

You can also identify songs with both iOS devices and Android devices by using the Google app. The neat thing with the Google app is that in addition to identifying a song by playing it, you can also sing or hum it yourself. This is handy in case you have a certain lyric or melody stuck in your head.

Open the Google app and tap on identify song by listening. Another option is to tap on the microphone icon and then tap search for a song.

When I attempted to sing a song, I got a 48% match of the song I was singing.

Then again, my singing voice isn’t the greatest, so you may get better results. I only got a 34% match when I attempted to hum a song.

Have you tried identifying a song with your smartphone? Let us know in the comments!