Holds and Requests

1. Placing a request

  1. Be in patron’s record
  2. Click Place Request on right
  3. Verify Pickup Location
  4. Type title of item in the Title Information field (use dropdown menu to search by author, item ID, etc.)
  5. Click Search
  6. Choose correct title
  7. Click Place Request at bottom
    1. The title of the item should appear on the screen under Session Titles

2. Status of the request

  1. Be in patron’s record
  2. Click on the number to the right of Pending Requests
  3. To the right of the title, you will see the “Status” column. There are three statuses: AR (Arrived), T (In-Transit), and P (Pending).  AR, or Arrived, means that the requested item has arrived at the appropriate branch, and should be on the hold’s shelf waiting for the patron to pick up.  T (In-Transit) means that the requested item is currently available and in the process of being transferred to the correct branch for pick-up.  P (Pending) means that the item is not currently available, but that the patron’s request is in the queue and will be fulfilled in the appropriate order.

3. Position in the queue

  1. Be in patron’s record
  2. Click on the number to the right of Pending Requests
  3. The number under Queue Position shows the number of requests before this patron

4. Arrived hold

  1. To determine at which library’s Request/Hold shelf the item is located
    1. Be in patron’s record
    2. Click on the number to the right of Pending Requests
    3. The library where the item is to be picked up is under Pickup Location at the far right

5. The Holds Shelf

Please contact patrons to let them know a hold is available. If the patron has an email address on their account, the system automatically sends an email notice of the availability. Otherwise, the patron should be called and made aware of the arrived hold.

As a general rule, we will keep items on the holds shelf for 7-10 days. If the item has a pending request, we will release it to the next patron after 7 days. If there are no pending requests, we will hold it for 10 days. After the appropriate time period has expired, please cancel the patron’s request to allow the item to re-enter circulation.

As with all things, extenuating circumstances may arise where branches choose to hold items for shorter or longer periods of time. This is up to the discretion of each branch manager. If a hold is cancelled before the normal 7-10 day period, please contact the patron and make them aware of the change.