What is Wowbrary?

Wowbrary is a nonprofit service that provides you free weekly emails and RSS feeds about your local library's most recent acquisitions. We've found that users of Wowbrary emails are both awed and excited when they discover their local public library's abundance of new books, DVDs, and CDs.

Our service reaches both avid library patrons and those who haven't used libraries in years. Wowbrary serves as an attractive online version of the new-book shelf, but one that spans all library branches, includes items that are checked out, and comes by convenient email or RSS for those who don't visit the library website or facilities regularly. By showcasing the latest arrivals and allowing patrons to click through directly to the library website, Wowbrary makes it easy to scan quickly what's new and encourages greater library use.

How do I get the weekly emails?

It's really easy. Simply type your ZIP code in the upper left box and hit the Go button. Wowbrary shows the libraries nearest you, and you select one of them. Some libraries are already part of Wowbrary's service. In that case you will receive your weekly email within one week. Other libraries have not yet joined Wowbrary. If you sign up for one of those, we will contact the library and let you know as soon as the library has joined Wowbrary.

How do I get the RSS feeds?

That's also really easy. Simply type your ZIP code in the upper left box and hit the Go button. Wowbrary shows the libraries nearest you that have Wowbrary RSS feeds. Press the RSS button next to the one you want.

How do I get Wowbrary's service to my friends?

Tell them about Wowbrary by clicking here to send an email to them, without compromising their email address. You can also send them a link to the www.wowbrary.org website.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a Wowbrary weekly email look like? Click here to see a sample Wowbrary email for the New York Public Library. [Close]

Wowbrary says it doesn't yet send emails for my library. How can I get these coming? To get Wowbrary emails or RSS feeds for your library requires that your library or other organization(s) sponsor the service. We suggest that you tell your library about your interest in Wowbrary. You may even help your library find a sponsor, such as the local Friends of the Library or other organization. [Close]

Are these all the newest books, movies and music CDs in my library? Wowbrary shows numerous newest items, but some less common ones are not shown. Your library's website may show you other lists of new items, especially if you are looking for non-English titles. [Close]

How do you select the Top Choices? The Top Choices are the 20 highest-ranked items added by the library within approximately the last 7 days. However, to increase variety, we include at most two items from any category. [Close]

What are Amazon ranks? Amazon ranks their books according to how well each book sells. The lower the number, the more copies are selling. A book with rank #1 is the current best-selling book. You'll notice that ranks change over time based on how well the item sells. [Close]

Why does my library say a book is on order? That message comes up when a library has entered the new title in the library's catalog, but has not yet placed the item on the shelf for circulation. Many libraries will let you place holds on items that are on order. Check with your library or just try placing the hold. [Close]

What if I use more than one library? That's great! Just sign up for all of them, and you will receive emails for each of them as soon as they have joined Wowbrary. [Close]

Why are some accented characters wrong? Information supplied by publishers and reviewers sometimes contain incorrect accented characters. Also, some email programs show accented characters incorrectly. If you see incorrect characters in Yahoo Mail Classic, try switching to the newer version of Yahoo Mail. [Close]

How can I change the email address Wowbrary mails to or cancel? There's a link near the bottom of each newsletter you receive that lets you change your email address or cancel. [Close]

Do you support local booksellers? We encourage you to also check with your local bookstores for your purchases. Amazon.com offers considerable technical resources and information beyond the scope of a local store to make Wowbrary possible. [Close]

If I sign up for Wowbrary, will I get spam? No. We only use your email address for one purpose, namely to send you weekly emails about the newest books, movies, and music in your library. We do not give your email address to anyone else. [Close]

Does Wowbrary keep my email address private? We keep your email address very private and do not divulge it to others. [Close]

When I use Wowbrary, will anyone know what items I check out? We do not collect data about your book, movie or music choices or interests. You do not give us your library card number. We do not know what items you check out and we do not track information on specific items by individual. [Close]

Please contact if your problem persists.