Have you ever been excited to hear that your favorite author has a new book out, only to face the disappointment of being 100th on the wait list for it? MHL has a new service called Author Alerts that may help out with that struggle! You can sign up to be notified by email or text message when an MVLC library places a new title by a particular author on order, meaning it is available to have holds placed on it in the catalog.

For example, if you were signed up for a Stephen King author alert, you would have been notified that MHL ordered a copy of If It Bleeds by Stephen King on October 29th, even though the book won't be released until May 5, 2020. (We don't usually order books quite so far in advance, but Stephen King is always so popular that we always try our best to be prepared for the demand for his new titles!) Now that you're armed with this knowledge, you can go ahead and place a hold on If It Bleeds and you'll be sure to be one of the first people to get a copy from the library when it's released in May. If you wait until May to put a hold on this title, you're surely be far down on the wait list (though of course, you'll get a copy eventually)!

You can also choose to be notified only when particular formats (such as large print, ebook, or audiobooks) are added for a particular author. You can sign up for as many author alerts as you'd like (and unsubscribe from them easily if you find that you are drowning in new books)!

If you have any questions about Author Alerts, please stop by the reference desk to ask or call us at 978-623-8430. We hope you find this new service helpful!