[jquery] How to alert using jQuery

Don't do this, but this is how you would do it:

$(".overdue").each(function() { 
    alert("Your book is overdue"); 
});

The reason I say "don't do it" is because nothing is more annoying to users, in my opinion, than repeated pop-ups that cannot be stopped. Instead, just use the length property and let them know that "You have X books overdue".