I know this has been around for awhile but I just recently found out about it. (CPL you should take advantage of this and advertise it so that people know it’s there for them to use, be sure to include a warning about privacy!) Library Elf allows you to create an account that links to your library card records. Using this information you can get a list of:
• all the books you have checked out and their due date,
• any holds that you have,
• any fines you owe.
Library Elf can then send you an email or RSS feed or an email AND rss feed letting you know that your books are due in 2 or 3 days or if you have any books on hold.
There was a discussion going on over at the library law blog about the privacy issues raised by using this service. It seems that the RSS feeds are not password protected and people using bloglines (and other rss services?) ran the risk of their library record feed showing up in a public search. The problem seems to have been sort-of fixed but it’s still something to keep in mind when using a service like this.
It should be noted that Library ELF is not affiliated with CPL. They just figured out how to get the data on your library card (I’m guessing) through the same mechanism that gives you your information when you obtain your records through the CPL provided page. It’s great to see 3rd party services expanding and improving our library service for free! Honestly, I’d be willing to pay for an expanded service like this.
On the privacy issue… If somebody wants to see my records that’s just fine. I use librarything to keep track of all the books that I’ve read and anybody can look at that. I really don’t care all that much. If somebody else is concerned about their privacy then they don’t have to participate in a service like this. More power to them. I’m a pretty big believer that the idea of privacy as we know it is over.
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