If it helps—uh, just for proof of concept—the SF library system uses “Innovative” (Udell’s Innovative example)

LibraryElf already does this almost exactly. Notifications by RSS, SMS, and email currently.

They do not automatically renew books as I did with my personal implamentation of a system like this. It’s not for evil, I swear!

They also do not have Netflixesk queuing features. They will notify you when a hold comes in, but will not keep track of what holds you’ve made in general.

They’ll be glad to add your library - they’ve already made interfaces for most of the common OPACs, so the process is usually is somewhat trival. I’ve been helping them along with their RSS notification for a while now.

Now, if only library did Netflixesk queues… I know librarians are loathe to deal with holds for books on the shelf and for good reason too - they have better things to do that make me a weak reason to go to the library.

“Netflixesk library interface” is on my someday/maybe list at the moment, along with the real thing.

Library Elf looks neat. Interesting coverage (and regrettably, for me, no SF). But it is possible, I guess.

I wonder if they scrape or if there are some systems that just have easier hooks in and out.

Some.

If your library happens to be using the open source Koha OPAC, you might be able too get them to install RSS support for Amazon and iTunes like RSS feeds, but not personal notification feeds.

(Don’t try to convince your library to switch OPACs. It won’t work.)

Also, the iPac OPAC systems will spit out XML if you do this. The same guy did a lot with his OPAC this way - check his category for it and his posts around those dates. I ended up hooking library search into AOLIM with with the same XML interface a while ago. Too bad it wasn’t my library. More OPACs need to have XML interfaces and all OPACs need to output clean and simple XML - iPac’s can barely be counted as XML in spirit.

Library Elf doesn’t care where you are. They’re perfectly willing to support whatever. LibraryElf based out of Vancouver, BC CA (!) and they kept pushing me to get a library card at my local, since I had been to lazy to. That way they could support my local - the Chicago Public Library. Just email them and I’m sure they’d be willing. They’d probably appreciate the exposure too!

PS: Sorry about all the links here Merlin - you just asked me the perfect question, that’s all.

There’s also ruk’s opac2rss.pl”

I hacked up a quick python script that emails me that info every day. It’s designed for the Phoenix Public Library, which uses something called CARLweb, so it may be possible to adapt it to other libraries that use that software.

It’s not for evil, I swear!

Hmm… My library allows unlimited renewals, so I just renew everything I have checked out every day. Is that evil? It does mean my copy is almost always last in line to be checked in on a hold. But since I’m following their rules, I didn’t really see a problem with it.

The trick with RSS feeds for private information is authentication. I’ve never seen an RSS reader that supports any sort of authentication beyond .htaccess-based (and its non-Apache equivalents).

What I’d like to see is the implementation of a “hey this website wants a login and password” HTTP header, which could act as a conduit for that authentication information and function within the standard .htaccess-based authentication process. This would permit things like RSS readers to access confidential data without requiring that sites route authentication through Apache.

My library allows unlimited renewals…

Oh the envy. Mine only allows 1 renewal. Zero if someone’s put a hold on the book.

I was just about to sign up for Library Elf when I thought twice about forwarding all my library information through something that’s not a library, and which has a privacy policy that states, in part: “This information is used for the following purposes: to fulfill your requests for services, improve our services, contact you, and conduct research….You should be aware, however, that it is possible that we might be required to make disclosure, for example in response to court orders or in governmental investigations.”

Turns out actual libraries are absolutely loath to turn over your records to ‘governmental investigations’, even when ‘required’. The American Library Association actively advocates against laws that require librarians to turn your information over to the government, and many libraries are instituting elaborate data-scrubbing policies to make that information harder to retrieve.

I love convenience. Library elf looks great. But I feel safer not piping my entire family’s library records through a third party that takes no particular moral position on the right of the government to see what books I’m reading.

Leland, iPac’s ability to spit out XML is an undocumented feature, or at least a poorly-kept secret. I agree that it’s definitely a step in the right direction, though. 5 years from now (or, let’s hope, sooner), not having a clean, well-documented web services API for your OPAC will just be inconceivable.

I’ve written server-side java code for RSS feeds that any library running iPac could install on their server to offer this functionality and more, but not many people use it (including the library I work for), because they just don’t understand the importance of it… or they don’t want to have to bother explaining to a mostly technophobic public how to use the feature.

I find Library Elf’s privacy policy pretty troubling, too. Saying they will turn over records if asked isn’t too surprising, but why on earth would they be saving any subpoena-worthy information? In the post-PATRIOT world, the philosophy should always be that they can’t subpoena what you don’t have.

The Seattle Public Library just announced that their new catalog software (Horizon) is going to provide RSS. See The Shifted Librarian: http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2005/01/11/wowastevenandfionacaughtamightybig_fish.html

Thanks Leland, for describing Library Elf and for the ensuing comments. This is all good feedback for us on how to improve Library Elf.

Just to let everyone know, Library Elf doesn’t store any historical information on what users have borrowed. Any sensitive information such as passwords, library cardnumbers, etc are encrypted with a very high level algorithm. Also everything works in real-time. A RSS file may be published up to once a day for users who have chosen to receive RSS feeds. Previous RSS copies are not kept or retained.

As far as the subpoena policy - we are following the same policies that are in place at some libraries here in Canada. However, the bottomline, in our opinion, is that there really isn’t anything worth turning over. And it would be done only if we were absolutely compelled to do so.

Finally we have changed our Privacy Policy to make it clearer and hopefully this will reduce the privacy concerns.

I have implemented a servlet that generates RSS feeds for new titles and books out written by Casey Durfee (Thanks Casey!!) at Seattle public library to do this, with a few XSL tweaks of my own for our Dynix classic 1.9.1 / Horizon Information Portal 3.0.4 catalog.

Have gone live with it and am still working on a few little enhancements (like a link with an auto login to renew books against each item) + better instructions for users.

The next version of Horizon (4.0) may have this sort of functionality built-in.

Anthony.

My library, the Ann Arbor District Library at http://www.aadl.org , just started supporting RSS feeds as you mentioned above, plus blogging right in the catalog with book recommendations and news from staff and patrons.

I took the library’s RSS feeds and stuck my books-on-hold list into my sidebar, you can see that at http://vielmetti.typepad.com .

They’re using Drupal for their catalog/blog and Innovative Interfaces for the OPAC, with some amount of custom goo to hold it all together.

RSS of Public Library Check-outs and Requests Available for SF

Almost everything can be available as RSS.