Placing Holds--Procedures Review

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Placing Holds--Procedures Review

via Kendall Library Blog by Karen on 2/19/13

From Lin Swalley, 2/18:

The issue of staff placing multiple holds for book clubs has come up recently and with that in mind, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to review the difference between types of holds, i.e., "bib" and "item" holds, so that you can get the best result from your use of Millennium.  Each type of hold has its pros and cons, as noted below:

Placing holds to float items to your agency

Collection Development encourages you to request items to float into your collection.  You can do this via the perennial needs list, the float blog, the Collection Development email list, and, of course, by sharing your needs with your fellow librarians by phone or in person. 

You may also use Holds to acquire needed/wanted materials for your local collection:

·         Use Bib Level Holds to get a single copy of a title.  This should be used in the vast majority of cases when you only want one copy, since the system will send you the first available copy.   Remember, you may only have one bibliographic level hold per account on a title at one time. NOTE: Be aware that most Central materials don't float, so if you want to add to your collection, Bib level holds may not meet your need. 

·         Use Item Level Holds to request multiple copies of a title for your collection at one time.  This allows you to request multiple copies of a single title, but the requests can only be filled by the specific copy requested for each. This allows you to avoid the problem of receiving a Central item that doesn't float, but keep in mind that item Level Holds do not transfer to other copies if the specific copy you placed on hold is not available.

Using Holds to "shop" for items is somewhat labor intensive.  Consider whether there is a simpler way to acquire what you need, such as calling around, using the Floating Collection Blog, or sending requests to the Collection Development email list.

If you DO choose to place item level holds please be considerate; don't place a hold on every copy in the system.  Here are some other pointers that can help make the process work better for all:

1. Try to spread out your holds between different libraries, especially for hot titles or those in a given subject.  If your neighboring library may get the same assignment, don't borrow all their books on that topic.
2. Look for those copies that are duplicates or have been sitting unused.
3. Use your agency's accounts so that it is clear who is holding the items.
4. Place no more than 1 hold on a single copy.

AGAIN: Please be considerate—don't put every copy of a title on hold, and do not use branch accounts to float items out.