Update

Due to increasingly aggressive spam filters blocking Elf email notices from reaching users, a new email format has been introduced. The new format will show only the items about to come due, items that are overdue or holds that are waiting for pickup or are about to expire.

Your email notice contains a link to a web page that displays the complete status of your library account(s). This web page is updated daily and contains the links to your library's catalog and home page.

Update

A new text alert feature has been added. The feature combines text alert and email notification -- on the due day only reminder -- it's basically a 'last-minute' reminder.

Text alerts are short and basically lets the user know that something is due. Details on what's due are in the email notice and one would just need to check their email (or sign into your Elf account) for more information on what's due.

To receive text alerts you'll need to update your Options (list of carriers).

Suggested by IR.

Update

Cellular One, SaskTel, Cellcom, Virgin Mobile Canada, Metro PCS subscribers may now receive text alerts for ready-for-pickup holds. If this is for you, just update your Options. Other carriers?

Suggested by PC, TM, E, HC and JW.

Update

Support for Polaris PowerPac (v3.2 or later) has improved.

We are able to add and maintain Polaris Powerpac (V3.2 or later) libraries better and more easily than before.

To add a Polaris-based library, send the name of the library and its URL to request @ libraryelf.com. Also to satisfy our curiousity, kindly mention how you found Elf.

Libraries are usually added within a day or two. If all goes well, it will be shown on the List of Libraries page.

Polaris Library Systems

Update

We've changed the way Library Elf generates the RSS feed link to give Elf users more control. When you change your Library Elf password, your RSS feed link changes as well.

If your current Library Elf RSS link has been made public and you want to change this, login to your Elf account and change your password. This automatically changes the RSS link. You will need to put this new RSS link into your feedreader, otherwise you won't be able to view your Library Elf RSS feed. Note that if this new RSS link were to be published, then others may be able to view your feed again.

It's important to note that some public RSS aggregator service may treat RSS feeds public even if you have set your profile to private. This means your RSS feeds may be viewable by others even if you have set your profile to private. Users using public RSS aggregator services might want to try doing a search in their systems to see if their Elf RSS feed has been made public. If you do not want your RSS feeds public, unsubscribe your Elf RSS feed and specify email only delivery.

Update - 6/6/05

Released version 1.0. This release is for the core functionality of the system: advance, overdue and hold notices delivered via email, RSS and browser. Note that although the core software has been released, only the Dynix-based libraries are out of beta. Libraries using other systems will continue to be in beta while the communication protocol between Elf and these libraries is monitored for reliability.

A note of thanks to everyone testing the system, particularly to the individuals and libraries who requested that their library be put on Elf. Thanks also to the users who sent in comments and suggestions. Many thanks as well to the users and libraries who share and help promote Elf.

New - 5/11/05

In addition to Holds that are Ready for Pickup, Elf now lists holds that you have requested but are not yet ready to be picked up. This list consolidates the holds from all of the libraries and library cards in your Elf account. Note that this feature does not work for all libraries.

Items in the list are sorted in priority by it's placement in the library's queue. If the library doesn't display this queue information, Elf displays the hold status message given by the library. "In Transit" holds will generally be listed at the top of the list, followed by "place 1", "place 2", etc. in the queue order. You can also sort this list by (clicking) library, patron, title or status.

Note that an item appearing at the top of the queue doesn't necessarily mean that the item will ready for pickup ahead of an item further down the queue. (This is because hold readiness would depend on other factors, i.e. the number of copies in circulation at the library.) Still, by following this Holds Requested list, you will get some idea of how fast your hold is "bubbling up" through the list and eventually moving onto the Holds Ready list.

Report any bugs or to comment - Feedback form.

Feature suggested by D.L., J.C., A.S. and K.T

The Welcome screen is a new website feature. When you sign into your account, the Welcome page will be displayed. The page serves two purposes: (1) it informs you about the current activties of your account and (2) it gives you a way of going directly to your My Account page without Elf first scanning your library accounts.

The information on this page shows various statistics about your account such as, total emails sent, number of advance due notices, number of overdue notices and other interesting metrics (such as when your Elf account was created).

Feature suggested by R.A., P.S. and C.Z.

Want reminder notices only via RSS feed? With this new feature, you will now have the ability to specify the method of delivery to received the information generated by Elf. You can receive the information by email, RSS or RSS and email.

Previously, the RSS feed delivered only a condensed version of what was in the email. However, because you can now receive RSS without the email, RSS reminder notices has been changed so that both the RSS and email versions deliver the same full information.

Feature suggested by K.T. and B.B.

Received a ready-for-pickup hold notice but not sure what time the library closes? Click on the (hours) link in your email reminder notice to bring up the library's hours of operation page. Note that with some libraries, you may need to click on the branch to get this information.

Feature suggested by M.M. and A.J.

Update

Daily checking has been improved so that dates (and reminder notices) are according to where one is located (that is, relevant to one's time zone).

International users will be able to see the effects of this update the most. For example, if you are a user in NZ, the dates in your notices will be NZ's calendar date, if you are in the UK, your dates will be UK's, etc.

Suggested by J.C., S.H., E.B.

Update

The Advance Notice feature has been updated to include daily reminder -- for anyone who prefer to receive an email reminder notice every day.

Note, both email and RSS feeds will be updated daily if 'every day' reminders is selected.

Enhancement sugguested by J.Y.

Update

The Advance Notice feature has been updated to include a reminder notice on the due date, if necessary.

This is a second reminder (initial reminder notice sent before items were due) and will be sent only if items show up as due on the due date. It's just-in-case, a reminder is necessary and the last chance for one to renew or return the item.

Enhancement suggested by M.G.

New

You may now get Elf reminders by an RSS feed. It works in parallel with your email notices. If you check the RSS option on, a feed will be generated whenever an email notice is sent.

To activate your RSS feed, go to My Account (located at the left side of screen). Click on the Options tab. Then in the RSS Feed section, check the box to activate the feed.

Note, your RSS password is not the same as your Elf account password.

Should you decide to give out your RSS password, give it to only those individuals you would like to view your feed.

There are many RSS readers to choose from and this feature has been tested on several readers. News readers that support RSS 2.0 should work.

RSS feeds suggested by D.L. and L.J.

Report any bugs or to comment - Feedback form.

Update

Calendar has been modified -- popup on "Due" dates to show all titles that are due.

Hover your mouse over "Due" date to see the titles due on that date. Click the "Due" date to bring up the library login page.

Note, this feature has been tested only on Outlook Express. Other emailers and browsers may not function in the same manner. For example, Netscape and Mozilla browsers displays a single line of text. Mac users will see the Calendar without the hover feature, however.

Suggested by S.B. and B.T.

New

A page for links to some of the popular bestseller lists and reviews has been added.

Suggestion from J.T.

New

Elf now does text message alerts for holds when the hold is ready for pickup. If the hold is not yet picked up and about to expire, a second text message alert will be sent.

Note: To receive text message hold alerts, you would need to have access (subscription) to mobile phone service which accepts text messages. As well, you should be aware that your carrier may charge a fee for text messaging. Check with your carrier for rates.

To sign up for text message hold alerts, go to My Account (located at the left side of screen). Click on the Options tab. Then in the Text Message Alerts section, enter your cell phone number and select your carrier.

(Remember - to access My Account, you will need to Sign-in.)

Feature suggested by W.L.

New

Introducing Elf's latest feature - calendar - a visual way for you to look at your circulation info. Up to three months may be shown with the relevant dates for dues, overdues and holds noted.

Hold expiry dates are in blue. Due, not yet due or overdue dates are shown in various shades of red. For instance, not yet dues are in dull red while overdues and dues closest to current day are a brighter red.

Feature suggested by R.A.

Update

Items appearing for the first time in Due, Overdue or Holds are highlighted with color.

Note, feature implemented for email notices only.

Initial spark for this feature from C.W. who wanted an easy way in determining the purpose of the email notice.

Updated Sign Up form: allow users, while signing up, to edit library card info if needed.

New Features, URL

Elf now does Holds notices; when items are ready for pickup, you can choose to receive an email notice. If the item is not picked up by the second to the last pickup date, Elf will send a second reminder notice. The default setting for this option is Once (although it could actually be twice).

Beside Once, None or Repeat may be specified instead.

Select None for no reminders (useful for anyone who do not need or want to be notified of holds).

Select Repeat for 'squeeky wheel' reminder notices.

Note, if you did not receive a hold notice and should have, submit a bug report so that the problem can be addressed.

Feature suggested by G.C.

Weekly notices was suggested by a library customer who routinely visited the library on a weekly basis and wanted to have weekly notices (rather than having notices just before items come due). It was also suggested by another user that weekly reminders could be used as a way to help pace one's reading (the notice would serve to remind one of how much time is left).

If you prefer weekly reminders, go to My Account, click the Options options tab and select the day you want from the Advance Notice dropdown box.

Effective immediately, a new and easier to remember web address -- www.libraryelf.com.

Please update your bookmarks and spam or message filtering software (the domain libraryelf.com may need to be added to your list of trusted senders).

Send comments, suggestions and bug reports by completing the Feedback .