At the Library 3/10/22

At the Library
by Cary Ann Siegfried

Do you have favorite authors? If you do, we’ll assume that you’re probably just dying to read the next book and to find out “what happens next” if the author writes books with recurring characters in a series. (If you don’t have favorite authors, let us know and we’ll find you some!). Here at your library, we know that you also have a busy life and you don’t always know just when that next book by your author is coming out, so we have a great tool called Reserve Express built into our catalog to make sure you don’t miss out on your next great read!

Hopefully you already know how to log into your library account, but if not, here are the steps. Visit our website (washington.lib.ia.us) and click on “Search Catalog” on the upper right part of the screen. From there, again in the upper righthand side of the screen, you’ll see the “Log into your account” form. In the “Card number” box, type in your library card number and then enter your password in the next box. Your password is generally your last name in lower case (unless you’ve changed it). Click the “Log In” button and you should see a message at the top right of the screen that says “Logged in as [library card number]. 

Once you’re logged in click on the “My Account” button at the top right of the screen. You’ll see the following tabs at the top:  Account Info, Notifications, Items Out/Renewals, Reserves/Requests, Bookmarks and History.  To access Reserve Express, click on “Reserves/Requests.”  You’ll then see a question: “Have some favorite authors? Arrange to receive new items by selecting authors automatically.”  Click on the text that is in blue and this explanation will appear: Reserve Express will automatically place you on the reserve list for new books by selected authors. Click on the “See all available” box to see the list of authors you can choose from.

Use the scroll bar to move down the list and simply check the boxes for authors that you read regularly.  In some cases you can even choose between regular print and large print. There is no need to do anything to “save” your selections; once you click the box it’s done.

You’re probably wondering if this means that you’ll be first on the list when a new title comes in. And yes, if you’re the only patron subscribed to an author, you’ll absolutely get it first, but if there are multiple patrons subscribed, the choice of who is first is totally random. If you know we’ve received a book by an author you’re subscribed to you can always access your account and look at your current reserves to see where you are on the waiting list.  

Feel free to ask us if you have any questions about the Reserve Express service!