One of the greatest benefits to membership in the Hamilton RASC is access to an extensive library of books, accessories and telescopes.
Library Guidelines:
- Most items can be borrowed for a period of 60 days
- Items with a higher demand will be available for shorter periods of time as noted: Lunt Solar Scope (30 days), Seestars (45 days) and Dwarf 3 (30 days)
- Items can be renewed after the initial 60 days provided there is no other demand
- New demand will take priority over the current borrower
- Loaned items can be held on reserve and a queue will form for multiple request on the same item
- If you are unable to reserve an item, reach out to outreach@hamiltonrasc.ca
- The library administrator will reach out via email to make arrangements for item pick up & return
Library Access:
- Membership lists are pulled weekly (Sept - June) and as needed during the summer months
- New members are eligible to borrow equipment as soon as they've been added to the patron list
- To be added to the patron list a member must have provided a proper name, address, email and phone number upon registration for their national membership with RASC
- If registration details are missing the Library Administrator will reach out via provided contact details, and the member can provide them should they wish to be added to the library patron list. After the first attempt, members will be responsible for contacting a Board member to request to be added.
- Access the library website via the link: https://www.librarycat.org/lib/HamiltonRASCAdmin (https://www.librarycat.org/lib/HamiltonRASCAdmin)/
- Enter your 5-digit RASC membership number when prompted (email outreach@hamiltonrasc.ca if you do not have or do not recall your member number
Item Search:- The main page of the library has a scrolling carousel of items
- Items scroll according to chronological order in which they were added
- Finding items is as easy as waiting for the pictures to scroll by or by typing your request in the search bar
- Search by keywords
Search Examples:
- Main categories: books, accessories, telescopes
- Brand name: Celestron, Meade, Orion, TeleVue, etc...
- Books can be found by tittle, author or topic
- Eyepieces can be found by brand, diameter (1.25" or 2"), focal length (8mm, 12mm, etc...)
- Telescopes can be found by brand name, size (8", 10", etc...), type (Dobsonian, SCT, Refractor, etc...)