(Photo by army.arch *Adam*)

Why spend $24 on a hardcover book when it has just come out? Usually because it would take weeks to get off the library’s waitlist. But now a D.C. Public Library initiative lets readers desperately awaiting the next novel from their favorite author stake a claim early.

On a “coming soon” page, DCPL is noting which titles will soon hit library shelves, along with their release dates. Patrons can get in the digital line immediately and pick up highly anticipated titles on the day they come out.

The timing is fortuitous, with a new chapter in the Harry Potter saga—a script for the stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child—coming out on Sunday. And, well, it is still too soon to know if you’ll actually want to own a book that features an “overworked, middle-aged Harry.” As of now, there are only 61 people on the reservations list for the 200 copies that DCPL has ordered, according to spokesman George Williams.

“As we continue to transform the D.C. library in ways big and small, it is a way to ensure that when a book is new and people are excited about it, they can find it at their library,” Williams says.

Other soon-to-be-released books that patrons can put a hold on include Amy Schumer’s Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo (coming out August 16) and Imbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers (August 23).