If you have problems accessing your library's online catalog from home these tips may help.

With the complexities that modern web browsers bring forth YLN libraries tend to get a lot of questions about why someone is not able to open the catalog on their web browser.  This document should help to troubleshoot this problem.

The first thing you should check is your browser version.  Make sure your browser is up to date.   Here are the minimum browser requirements for the online catalog:

For windows and Unix:
Internet Explorer 6.02
Netscape 7.1

For Linux
Netscape 7.1

For Mac OS 10.3.1 or higher
Netscape 7.1
Safari 1.2.1

Next you will want to make sure your security settings are not too high.  This can be accessed in Internet Explorer 7 by going to tools and then internet options.  Then click on the security tab.  Anything above medium-high may cause problems.

If you have a viable browser version and are still having problems you should check to see if you have a firewall blocking port 8080.  You could have a device on your network that could be blocking that port number without your knowledge.  Many cable/DSL routers (they are connected to your cable or DSL modem if you use one) have firewalls built into them.  The vendors are not always good about letting you know they have a firewall built into them either.  Also, Windows XP and later has a built-in firewall.  Your computer may come with a software firewall from a different vendor such as Norton or Nvidia as well.

You will also want to make sure you have Norton security center disabled if you are using it.  This program in particular seems to cause connection problems to the online catalog.

Lastly, make sure your internet connection is working.  You could just be trying to use the internet at a time when your internet service is down.  You can test this by going to any website.  If the website doesn't come up there is a good chance your internet service is down.  Call your Internet Serice Provider to find out if there is an issue.