YOUNGSTOWN With online notifications, area library goes automated

YOUNGSTOWN -- The local library has stepped into the technology age.
With a new automated phone system at the Public Library of Youngstown & amp; Mahoning County, patrons will be called or e-mailed by a computer about overdue books and the arrival of reserved materials.
The phone system goes into effect June 1 and is called the Millennium catalog system.
This is in addition to having online access to the status of your account, seeing what books you have checked out and when they are due.
The Online Library Account feature, available since January, is accessible from the Library's Web site, at www.LibraryVisit.org. Click on the link that reads, "View Your 'Online Library Account.'"
Patrons can place future reads on hold until their next visit and sign on to receive notices about new materials that match specified interests.
Patrons not yet registered will need their library bar-code number.
The Library said it will not release personal information or e-mail addresses, and once you have set up a PIN to your account, no one else will be able to view your account.
The new automated system is intended to be a faster, better and more cost-efficient way for the library to contact patrons.