Email reminders to help you return your library materials on time

We’re very happy to announce that, starting today, you can sign up to receive emails to remind you of your checked-out items two days before the items are due.

How to get the email reminders

You can opt in to receive due date reminders in the new Notification Settings section of your account.

See our frequently asked questions about email notification and email address confirmation instructions for more help.

Manage your settings

The new Notification Settings area in your account allows you to directly manage your email address and preferences. If you've had problems with email notification in the past, check your settings and review our troubleshooting tips, or contact us for help.

Can I get due date reminders by phone or text message?

No, this service is only available via email.

Caveat: it’s still your responsibility to return your items on time.

Due date reminders give you an additional way to keep track of when items are due, but you will still be charged fines if an item is returned late, even if (for any reason) you do not receive a reminder notice. You can always check what you have borrowed and when it’s due by looking at your account online.

Improvements to holds and overdue notification

Update February 23 12:10 PM: Sorry some of you received phone calls as well as emails. This was a temporary glitch in the transition to the new system and should be fixed now.

Update February 22 10:00 PM: A number of you have informed us that you are now receiving both phone and email notices or you are unexpectedly receiving telephpone notices. Please contact us to report these issues through the webite at http://www.tpl.ca/contact. Thank you.

As of today, February 22, 2012, email notification subscribers will receive improved hold and overdue email notification. 

This change marks the first phase of a series of improvements to the email notification service.

What has changed?

The changes in the first phase include:

• Title and author information for all items
• Easy to read date information (e.g. Monday, Mar. 12, 2012 instead of 12/03/2012)
• Improved layout and links to items, locations, and help information 
• More reliable delivery

 

What do I have to do to get the new notices?

If you have already been receiving hold and overdue notifications by email You don’t need to do anything – you will begin receiving the new notices automatically. You may want to add the sender [email protected] to your contact list and mark it as “not spam” or a “safe sender” to ensure that notifications do not end up in your junk mail folder.

If you are currently receiving library notifications by telephone You need to switch your notification preference to email. You can do this yourself by submitting your email address in the Account Settings tab in your account, or you can ask our Answerline service or the staff at any branch to make the change for you.

If you’re not sure whether you’re signed up for email or telephone notification Contact us or talk to staff at your branch – we can check your current settings and make sure we have the correct email address on file for you.

I tried using email notification in the past, but had problems. Should I try again?

Yes! There have been issues in the past with the reliable delivery of email notification. As part of these improvements, we are using a new email service that will provide more reliable delivery.

I want to be notified before my items are due.

This option is coming in the second phase of improvements later this year. We’ll provide more information as soon as this new service is ready to go. In addition, a number of other options and changes to the email notification service are planned so stay tuned.