1.1. Hold Fulfillment in NC Cardinal

How does Evergreen Fulfill Hold Requests?

On This Page

Hold Fulfillment involves several steps: patrons request holds, eligibility is checked, and items are targeted or queued based on availability. The Holds Targeter prioritizing proximity. Holds can be limited based on shelving location, item record flags, or hold policies. Efficient processing of holds is crucial, with staff advised to run pull lists daily. Holds may be fulfilled through standard targeting and opportunistic capture as items are checked in. 

Hold Fulfillment follows this basic process:

1. A patron requests a hold.
2. Evergreen checks to make sure the patron is eligible for that hold, and that at least one item in the consortium may be able to fulfill that hold.
3. An available item is targeted for the hold. 
4. If no item is available, the request is placed in a queue.
5. A targeted hold appears on the owning library's Hold Pull List.
6. The library pulls the item and captures it. If the library fails to pull it within ~24 hours, it's re-targeted. A new item is identified and appears on a new pull list.
7. The item is sent to the hold shelf, or placed in transit to the pickup library.
8. If the item is not checked out within seven days, it expires. 

How the Targeter Works

Once a patron places an eligible hold request, they are added to a queue. If there are patrons in the hold queue, the Evergreen Hold Targeter begins to search for a specific copy to fulfill that hold. It targets in the following order:

1. Items owned by the pickup branch
2. Items owned by other branches in the system
3. Items owned by libraries outside the system, adjusted for proximity

If there is not an available copy at the branch level, the targeter moves on to the system level. If there is not an available copy in the system, it will begin to target in the wider consortium, beginning with systems that are closest by geographic proximity.

When an item is targeted for a hold, it will show up on the owning library's Holds Pull List. If the target library does not act on the hold within 24 hours, the hold will automatically retarget and a new target copy and location are identified.

Blocking Holds

There are three ways that holds can be limited in NC Cardinal:

• through the shelving location
• through flags in the item record
• through hold policies. 

If any of these three indicates that the item cannot circulate, then NC Cardinal will block the hold. 

Opportunistic Capture

When an item with an active hold request is scanned for checkin, that item will be targeted for the next hold in line. However, if there is a hold request for pickup at the branch where the copy is checked in, that hold request will move to the top of the queue. This reduces the amount of time items spend in transit, thereby moving through the queue more quickly.

Daily Pull List

The 24-hour targeter is part of the reason it is important for staff at all Cardinal libraries run their pull list every morning that the library is open and get everything pulled and scanned right away. There are often lots of patron holds placed overnight. At least once a day is necessary; twice is even better. The targeter re-evaluates every 24 hours, even if the library is closed. 

There are actually two ways an item can be targeted/captured to fill a hold. The second way is called opportunistic capture, which means that, when an item that is eligible to fill a hold is checked in, Evergreen may immediately target that item and put it into transit to the pickup library for a patron. Those two functions act in concert to fill holds.

There has sometimes been a misconception among some staff that a targeted item shows up on multiple pull lists at the same time because, by the time the library pulls the item from the shelf and scans it on the check in screen, Evergreen says to put the item back on the shelf rather than targeting a hold. That usually happens because there was a gap between the time the hold list was run/printed and the time the item was actually pulled and scanned. In that gap, someone at another branch had checked in an eligible item and Evergreen targeted that item instead. Only one item is targeted at a time and shows up on only one pull list at a time. 

Hold Limits

Hold limits are rather complex, and unfortunately there is nothing as simple as checking a box to indicate whether a particular hold policy should or should not apply to a particular patron group or item. There are hold policies that apply to your library patrons which may be set to limit your patrons to 10 holds. However, the consortium sharing limit on holds is 25, so there cannot be holds policies that block users at other libraries from placing holds on books, audiobooks, and videos from your library up to that limit per patron. In other words, you can have policies that limit your own patrons to 10 holds, but not other consortium library patrons.

In Evergreen, hold policies do not consider the circulation modifier when applying the max hold limit to determine whether a hold is permissible. Evergreen only considers how many holds the patron currently has, regardless of whether the circulation modifier of the items on hold matches the circulation modifier for the max hold limit on the hold policy applying to the hold the patron is placing. So, if a library has set a hold limit of 1 for TECHNOLOGY items, patrons will not be able to place a hold on those TECHNOLOGY items if they already have an active hold on anything else, regardless of the type of materials those other holds are for. Staff with Circ Lead or above permission group can override and place the hold for the patron, so it is something you will need to educate staff on, so that they are aware and prepared to override and inform patrons, as needed.

Which policy a particular hold request hits can be complex, as it involves many different factors — the particular patron account, permission group, item settings, shelving location, owning library, and pickup location — so it may be possible for a number of different hold policies to be eligible to apply to a patron's hold request, based on those factors. However, Evergreen will only choose one policy, based on weighting and then random selection if 2 or more policies have the same weight.

Messages for Unsuccessful Holds

1.2. Hold Policies

How Hold Policies Work

On This Page

Before issuing a library card to someone, staff at every NC Cardinal library must search Evergreen for patrons with matching name and other identifiers. To search for a patron, select Search for Patrons from the Search menu in the menu bar. 

Hold Policies are a set of integrated settings that control how holds are managed, targeted, and fulfilled. They are not applied directly to items, but insead utilize data about the patron, library, and record that work together to determine:

• If a hold can be placed
• What items may be targeted to fulfil a hold request

Libraries may have muliple policie that affect their items and patrons differently, based on how various factors interact. The main factors considered are:

• Library data
• Copy data
• Patron data

1.3. Holds and Resource Sharing

Holds and Resource Sharing

The consortium has established a resource sharing policy that requires all libraries to share all books and AV materials that they circulate to their own patrons. Libraries cannot restrict particular items (such as Battle of the Books or other special collections) for use only by their own patrons. It was agreed by the membership that a library must circulate these items freely because patrons can easily place holds on these items in the catalog to be filled by any library in the consortium. It would not be fair for one or some libraries to restrict parts of their collections only to their own patrons when all libraries have agreed to share those items in the same way. Staff can create and share book lists with permalinks to the bib record in Evergreen that can be used by patrons or posted on the library's website, if desired. 

The consortium also has agreed to keep items on the holds shelf for patron pickup for 7 days. There is some leeway for special circumstances like book club holds, which are of a relatively short duration (usually no more than a month), and are being pulled together quickly by the coordinator for patrons’ convenience to immediately be checked out by the book club patrons. That is different from keeping items “On holds shelf” (or checked out to a library account) for months as a means to prevent any other library from using them via resource sharing.

If items are owned by a library system and new (less than 6 months old by active date), catalogers can put the 6-month age hold protection on those items, which prevents resource sharing. Once those items are more than 6 months old (such that 6-month age hold protection no longer applies), books and AV materials that circulate to your patrons should not be restricted from resource-sharing to patrons throughout the consortium. Circulation and reference staff can notify cataloging staff if bibliographic records need attention to correct issues. Sometimes, there are duplicate records that can be merged to create more target items to fill holds.

For an overview of the how the holds process functions with specific regard to resource sharing, you can visit this section of the Resource Sharing Knowledge Book.

Age Hold Protection

Age hold protection prevents new items from filling holds requested for pickup at a library other than the owning library for a specified period of time. The protection period when applied to an item record can start with the item record create date (default) or active date. NC Cardinal libraries primarily use a 6-month age hold protection period on newly published and newly purchased (older) items that limits holds to the owning library system based on the item’s active date, the date the item first has a status of Available in Evergreen. The active date will display in the staff client OPAC view and in the Item Status details.

If a cataloger applies the age hold protection label when the item record is created, the protection lasts for 6 months after the active date (first checkin to make the item Available to patrons). When the item is more than 6 months past the Active Date, it is available to fill holds for the entire consortium. An automatic process that runs daily removes the age hold protection label from the item once the 6-month age hold protection has expired. Age hold protection only applies to individual item records and cannot be configured in hold policies.

On Order Holds

Library customers hear or read about upcoming titles from their favorite authors and want to put the titles on hold. Libraries who do not use Acquisitions or have not previously entered on-order items may be using a paper tracking system to identify patrons who wish to place these popular items on hold, to be hand entered once the library receives the item. It would save circulation staff time to be able to place the hold immediately.

Patrons can place holds on on-order bibliographic records without restriction, since age hold protection only takes effect once a new item has an active date (once it is checked in with an Available/Reshelving status, when it will be targeted to fill holds). Staff and patrons may not be aware that they should search all of NC Cardinal to place holds whether or not the patron’s preferred pickup library has an on-order item. So, if a patron places a hold on a bib record for a new item, but the patron’s library system never purchased a copy, the hold will not be filled until items become available from other library systems after 6-month age hold protection has expired. Staff should educate patrons about the 6-month age hold protection function, so that patrons are aware of the potential wait time.

2.1. Holds Levels

Metarecord: Compilation of individual bibliographic records that represent the same work (possibly in different formats). This compilation allows for several records to be represented on a single line on the search results page and allows the broadest number of potential copies to fill a patron hold for the first available copy of selected formats.

Title record: A single bibliographic record that contains MARC data about a work, such as title, author, and copyright date.

Monograph parts: A means of providing additional granularity within bibliographic records, primarily to enable patrons to place holds on individual parts of a set of differing items encompassed by the same published title.

Call number record (also called volume record): The record assigned to a library branch with one or more item records attached containing the call number for the work.

Item record: The record for a single copy of a work that is assigned a unique identification number (barcode) in the catalog.

2.2. Title Level Holds

 

 

 

Select the Place hold for patron by barcode box. Do not choose Place this hold for me as staff should never place holds or have items checked out on their login access account. See Staff Login Accounts and Permission Policies.

Scan or type the patron's barcode into the field or select the Patron Search button and search for the patron account.

A default hold expiration date will be displayed if the library has set up a default holds expiration period in their library settings. Uncaptured holds will not be targeted after the expiration date.

Advanced Hold Options

Choosing the Advanced Hold Options link will take you into the metarecord level hold feature. See Metarecord Search and Holds.

Selecting multiple formats will not place all of these formats on hold. For example, selecting CD Audiobook and Book implies that either the CD format or the book format is the acceptable format to fill the hold. If no format is selected, then any of the available formats may be used to fill the hold. The same holds true for selecting multiple languages.

If this title contains multiple parts, you must specify which part to request. If you do not select a part, the hold will target any of the other copies on this record, that is, those with no parts attached. Those copies are usually the complete set, containing all the parts. See Holds using Monograph Parts.

Edit patron hold notification and expiration date fields as required. Be sure to choose a valid Pickup location, then click Submit.

If you select the Suspend this Hold checkbox, the hold will be suspended and not be captured until you activate it. Or you can choose the Set activation date/Hide activation date toggle link and enter an activation date, so that Evergreen will automatically activate the hold on that date. This is useful when patrons may be out of town or unable to pickup their hold in the near future.

 

 

 

A confirmation message should appear stating "Hold was successfully placed". Click Continue to go back to the catalog search screen. Clicking the Place another hold for this title link allows staff to place another hold on the same title record for a different patron. This returns to the hold screen, where a different patron’s information can be entered. This feature can be useful for book groups or new items where a list of waiting patrons needs to be transferred into the system.

 

 

2.3. Volume and Copy Level Holds

2.4. Holds using Monograph Parts

2.5. Metarecord Search and Holds

Metarecords are compilations of individual bibliographic records that represent the same work. Evergreen uses a function called the Fingerprint to match records with different formats and identifiers (for example, the Large Print and Regular Print of the same book). The fingerprint is made up of several subfields in teh bibliographic record. This compilation allows for several records to be represented on a single line on the catalog search results page, which can help to reduce result duplications. Both staff and patrons may place these holds from either the staff client (staff only) or the OPAC (any user).

Metarecord holds can be useful in two distinct ways:

• If there are multiple records for the same item that should be merged but have not been.
• If a patron is open to different formats of the same item, such as both DVD and Blu-Ray, or both regular print and large print.

Metarecord Search in the OPAC

Patrons or staff placing Metarecord holds in the OPAC should start their search from the Advanced Search Page.

Select the Group Formats and Editions checkbox on the Advanced Search page.

Administrators can also configure the catalog to default to a Group Formats and Editions search by enabling the relevant config.tt2 setting on the server. Setting this option will pre-select the checkbox on the Advanced Search and Search Result Pages. Users can remove the checkmark, but new searches will revert to the default search behavior.

Within the Search Results page, users can also refine their searches and filter on metarecord search results by selecting the Group Formats and Editions checkbox.

The metarecord search results will display both the representative metarecord bibliographic data and the combined metarecord holdings data (if the holdings data is OPAC visible). The number of records represented by the metarecord are displayed in parentheses next to the title. The formats contained within the metarecord are displayed under the title.

For the metarecord search result, the Place Hold link defaults to a metarecord level hold.

Placing a Metarecord Hold in the OPAC

To place a metarecord level hold:

 

Note: Selecting multiple formats will not place all of these formats on hold for the user. For example, a user cannot select CD Audiobook and Book and expect to place both the CD and book on hold at the same time. Instead, the user is implying that either the CD format or the book format is the acceptable format to fill the hold. If no format is selected, then any of the available formats may be used to fill the hold. The same holds true for selecting multiple languages.

Advanced Hold Options

When users place a hold on an individual bibliographic record they will see an Advanced Hold Options link within the Place Hold screen. Clicking the Advanced Hold Options link will take the users into the metarecord level hold feature, enabling them to select multiple formats and/or languages.

Metarecord Constituent Records Page

The catalog includes a Metarecord Constituent Records page, which displays a listing of the individual bibliographic records grouped within the metarecord. Access the Metarecord Constituent Records page by clicking on the metarecord title on the Search Results page.

 

This will allow the user to view the results for grouped records.

Placing Metarecord Holds from the Staff Client

Staff may place metarecord holds for patrons from the staff client. The process is similar.

1. On the Catalog Search page, select the box to Group Formats/Editions.
   
2. Conduct your search as normal.
3. The results will group together multiple records. The icon for each record type will be visible in the results page.
   
4. Click the Place Hold Button. Enter the patron's information.
5. Select the format types the patron wishes to place a hold on by checking the appropriate boxes. If multiple languages are avialable, you may be able to select those as well.
   
   
   
6. Click the Place Holds button to finalize the hold.

The same steps may be followed if the hold request originates in the patron account and the staff member searches the catalog after clicking the "Place Hold" button in the patron account.

Show Holds on Bib

Within the staff client, Show Holds on Bib for a metarecord level hold will take the staff member into the Metarecord Constituent Records page.

3.1. Placing Holds in Patron Records

3.2. Hold Groups

What are Hold Groups?

 

The Hold Groups feature allows library staff to create lists of patrons that can then be used to place multiple title-level holds on the same bibliographic record. This is useful for book clubs, new or on-order items, and/or high demand items.

The Hold Groups interface is based on the User Buckets feature, where staff can create lists of patrons and perform batch actions for each user on the list.

Notable Features of Hold Groups

Patrons can be added to a Hold Group by patron barcode, by an integrated patron search in the Hold Group interface, and through the normal patron search.

Hold placement can be randomized so that when a hold is placed it does not always follow the order in which patrons were added to the Hold Group, thereby ensuring a fairly distributed holds queue placement for members of the Hold Group.

Hold Groups for an individual patron are visible on that patron’s record under Other → Hold Groups.

Hold Groups can be made visible to the patron through the public catalog. From My Account, patrons can view their current Hold Groups and remove themselves from a Hold Group if desired.

Like User Buckets, Hold Groups are visible only to the staff member who created them but can be shared through Bucket ID.

Please see Hold Groups Administration for information on some of the technical developments related to this feature.

Please see Hold Groups OPAC for information on using Hold Groups from the OPAC My Account interface.

Hold Groups Staff Interface

The new Hold Groups interface is found under Circulation → Hold Groups.

The interface is divided into four tabs:

• Hold Groups - The Hold Groups tab provides an overview of all Hold Groups created by the logged in user. New Hold Groups can be created from this tab.

• Current Users - The Current Users tab is used to view the list of users on the open Hold Group. Hold Groups can also be created, edited, and deleted from this tab. Access to shared Hold Groups can be found on this tab as well.

• Add Users - The Add Users tab is used to identify patrons to add to the open Hold Group.

• Hold Events - The Hold Events tab displays a list of holds placed for users in the open Hold Group. Holds can be initiated and canceled from this tab as well.

As with other interfaces in Evergreen, the tabs for Current Users, Add Users, and Holds Events include checkboxes for each line (users, holds, etc.), which are used to activate the Actions menu. The Actions menu is different on each tab and allows for actions appropriate to the purpose of the section.

Double-clicking on a Hold Group will open the Hold Group in the Current Users tab.

Staff Workflows

The following workflows detail how to create new Hold Groups, add users to a Hold Group, edit and delete a Hold Group, and place holds for a Hold Group.

Create a New Hold Group

1. Go to Circulation → Hold Groups.

2. On the Hold Group tab, click New Hold Group.

3. Enter a name for the Hold Group.

4. Enter a description for the Hold Group (optional).

5. Choose the owning library from the drop-down (defaults to the workstation library).

6. If you want the Hold Group to be visible to the patrons on the list, check the Visible to Patrons? checkbox.

7. Click Create Bucket.

The same workflow may be used on the Current Users and Add Users tabs to create a new Hold Group.

Add Users to a Hold Group

Patrons can be added to a Hold Group by barcode, by searching for a patron with an integrated patron search on the Add Users tab, or by a normal patron search. Staff must have PLACE_HOLD permissions to add patrons to a Hold Group at least at the same organizational unit depth (library) as the patron they are trying to add. For example, a staff member with branch level permissions for Branch A could only add patrons to Hold Groups owned by Branch A. If they needed to add patrons to Branch B or Branch C too, they would need system or consortial-level permissions.

Remember to select the proper hold group under Hold Groups by double-clicking the group selection before adding or editing users.

Add Users By Barcode

1. Go to Circulation → Hold Groups.

2. Double-click the name of the Hold Group you wish to add patrons to.

3. Go to the Add Users tab.

4. Scan or enter the patron barcode into the Scan Barcode field.

5. Added patrons appear in a list under the Add All To Hold Group button. Users in this list are considered pending and have not yet been added to the Hold Group. Note that the parenthetical number for Add Users increases to display the number of pending users.

6. Continue adding barcodes as needed.

7. From the list, select one or more users with the checkboxes at the beginning of each row or select all users with the checkbox at the list.

8. Use the Actions button (or right click any user line) and choose Add to Hold Group. The users will now appear on the Current Users tab as part of the Hold Group.

Add Users With Integrated Patron Search

1. Go to Circulation → Hold Groups.

2. Double-click the name of the Hold Group you wish to add patrons to.

3. Go to the Add Users tab.

4. Click Search for Patron. A patron search pop-up opens. The search is scoped to the workstation of the logged in staff member, but can be expanded by using the additional search fields.

5. Enter search criteria into the appropriate fields. The pop-up defaults to the basic patron search. Additional search fields are available by clicking the down-arrow button to the right of the Search button. This option is sticky.

6. Click Search or hit the Enter key. Results appear in the bottom portion of the pop-up window.

7. Click anywhere on a row in the results list to select that patron.

8. Click Select. The patron is added to the list of pending users. Users on this list have not yet been added to the Hold Group. Note that the parenthetical number for Add Users increases to display the number of pending users.

9. Continue adding patrons as needed.

10. From the list, select one or more users with the checkboxes at the beginning of each row or select all users with the checkbox at the list.

11. Use the Actions button (or right click any user line) and choose Add to Hold Group. The users will now appear on the Current Users tab as part of the Hold Group.

12. You can add some or all of the users in the pending users list to different Hold Groups without entering barcodes or searching again. Simply go to the Hold Groups tab and double-click another Hold Group from the list. Return to the Add Users tab and select the users you wish to add to the new Hold Group, and use the Actions menu to add them to the Hold Group.

Add Users From Patron Search

1. Go to Search → Search for Patrons.

2. Enter your search criteria.

3. Use the checkboxes on each patron search result to select one or more patrons.

4. Click Add to Bucket.

5. A list of Hold Groups, as well as other patron buckets, are visible. (Only those Hold Groups created by the logged in user are visible.) Choose the Hold Group to which you want to add the patron(s) or create a new Hold Group.

6. A message displays on the bottom right corner of the screen to confirm whether the patrons were added successfully to the Hold Group.

Edit An Existing Hold Group

1. Go to Circulation → Hold Groups.

2. On the Hold Groups tab, double-click the Hold Group you wish to modify. This will open the Hold Group in the Current Users tab.

3. Click the Hold Groups button and choose Edit Hold Group.

4. The Edit Bucket pop-up will open. You can edit the name, description, owning library, or visibility.

Place Holds For a Hold Group

Holds can be placed from the Hold Groups interface or by searching the catalog. Staff must have MANAGE_BATCH_HOLDS permissions to place a batch hold or cancel holds with this interface.

From the Hold Groups Interface

1. Go to Circulation → Hold Groups.

2. From the Hold Groups tab, double-click a Hold Group. The Hold Group will open in the Current Users tab.

3. Go to the Hold Events tab.

4. Click on New Hold Group Event.

5. Enter the Record ID number for the bibliographic record on which you wish to place the hold.

6. Use the checkbox to override all hold-blocking conditions possible if desired.

7. Click Create Event.

From Searching the Catalog

1. Search the catalog to identify the record on which you wish to place a hold.

2. Click “Place Hold” from the results or detailed record. The Hold Placement page appears.

3. Use the radio button to choose Place hold for patron Hold Group and use the drop-down to choose the Hold Group from the list.

   

4. Please note that most additional hold options (e.g., choosing the pickup library or notification preferences) are disabled for holds placed by Hold Group. Pickup location and notification preferences adhere to the defaults for the respective patrons. Patrons can edit their notification preferences and pickup locations from My Account on the public catalog after the hold is placed. Holds may be suspended and an activate date added if desired.

5. Click Submit.

Holds can be cancelled from the Hold Events tab by selecting the hold and using the Actions menu and choosing Cancel Hold Group Event.

Deleting a Hold Group

Hold Groups can be deleted on the Current Users tab. Deleting a Hold Group does not cancel any holds placed through the Hold Group.

1. Go to Circulation → Hold Groups.

2. From the Hold Group tab, double-click the Hold Group you wish to delete. This will open the Hold Group in the Current Users tab.

3. Click the Hold Groups dropdown and choose Delete Hold Group.

   

From the My Account Interface in the OPAC

If a hold group is patron visible, then the information will be available for viewing under Holds/Ready and Hold Groups. Here a table will display hold group information and patrons can remove themselves from a group if desired.

4.1. Managing Holds in the Patron Account

How to Manage Holds in the Patron Account

Holds can be cancelled at any time by staff or patrons. Before holds are captured, staff or patrons can suspend them or set them as inactive for a period of time without losing the hold queue position, activate suspended holds, change notification method, phone number, pick-up location (for multi-branch libraries only), expiration date, activation date for inactive holds, etc. Once a hold is captured, staff can change the pickup location and extend the hold shelf time if required.

Staff can edit holds in either patron’s records or title records. Patrons can edit their holds in their account on the OPAC.

Hold Action Menu

All hold actions can be performed from the Actions menu.

1. Retrieve the patron record and go to the Holds screen.

2. Highlight the hold record, then select Actions.

   

3. Manage the hold by choosing an action on the list.

Available Actions

Cancel Hold: You will be prompted to select a reason and put in a note if required. To finish, click Apply.

Note: A captured hold with a status of On Hold Shelf can be cancelled by either staff or patrons. But the status of the item will not change until staff check it in.

Suspend Hold: If you want to suspend a hold or activate a suspended hold, click the appropriate action on the list. You will be prompted to confirm your action. Suspended holds have a No value in the Active? column.

Suspended holds will not be filled but its hold position will be kept. They will automatically become active on the activation date if there is an activation date in the record. Without an activation date, the holds will remain inactive until staff or a patron activates them manually.

Editing Dates: You may edit the Activation Date and Expiration Date by using the corresponding action on the Actions dropdown menu. You will be prompted to enter the new date. Use the calendar widget to choose a date, then click Apply. Use the Clear button to unset the date.

Hold shelf expire time is automatically recorded in the hold record when a hold is filled. You may edit this time by using the Edit Shelf Expire Time on the Actions dropdown menu. You will be prompted to enter the new date. Use the calendar widget to choose a date, then click Apply.

Edit Phone Notifications: If you want to enable or disable phone notification or change the phone number, click Edit Notification Settings. You will be prompted to enter the new phone number. Make sure you enter a valid and complete phone number. The phone number is used for this hold only and can be different from the one in the patron account. It has no impact on the patron account. If you leave it blank, no phone number will be printed on the hold slip. If you want to enable or disable email notification for the hold, check Send Emails on the prompt screen.

Change Pickup Library: Pickup location can be changed by clicking Edit Pickup Library. Click the dropdown list of all libraries and choose the new pickup location. Click Submit.

Staff can change the pickup location for holds with in-transit status. Item will be sent in transit to the new destination. Staff cannot change the pickup location once an item is on the holds shelf.

Condition Requests: The item’s physical condition is recorded in the copy record as Good or Mediocre in the Quality field. You may request that your holds be filled with copies of good quality only. Click Set Desired Copy Quality on the Actions list. Make your choice in the pop-up window.

 

Holds on one title can be transferred to another with the hold request time preserved.

1. Navigate to the record for the the destination title. Open the Mark for menu and select Title Hold Transfer.
   
2. Return to the record for the original hold and find the View Holds tab.
3. Select the hold you want to transfer. From the Actions menu, select Transfer to Marked Title.

You can view a patron's recently cancelled holds in the Recently Cancelled Holds tab of the holds interface in their account.

To uncancel a hold, select the title to be placed back on hold and choose "Uncancel Hold" from the Actions menu.

Based on your library’s setting, hold request time can be reset when a hold is un-cancelled.

You can view details of a hold by selecting a hold then clicking the Detail View button on the Holds screen.

You may add a note to a hold in the Detail View.

Notes can be printed on the hold slip if the Print on slip? checkbox is selected. Enter the message, then click OK.

Using the Column Picker, you can display Queue Position and Total number of Holds.

Note: In NC Cardinal, holds are not always fulfilled on a First In, First Out basis. See Holds Fulfillment for more information.

In Evergreen, patrons can set up their default holds notification method in the Account Preferences area of My Account. Staff cannot set these preferences for patrons; the patrons must do it when they are logged into the public catalog.

Patrons with a default notification preference for phone will see their phone number at the time they place a hold. The checkboxes for email and phone notification will also automatically be checked (if an email or phone number has been assigned to the account).

• The patron can remove these checkmarks at the time they place the hold or they can enter a different phone number if they prefer to be contacted at a different number. The patron cannot change their e-mail address at this time.
• When the hold becomes available, the holds slip will display the patron’s e-mail address only if the patron selected the Notify by Email by default when a hold is ready for pickup? checkbox. It will display a phone number only if the patron selected the Notify by Phone by default when a hold is ready for pickup? checkbox.

4.2. Managing Holds in the Title Record

See Retargeting Holds for additional instructions.

4.3. Retargeting Holds

Holds may need to be retargeted whenever a new item is added to a record, or after some types of item status changes, for instance when an item is changed from On Order to In process. The system does not automatically recognize the newly added items as available to fill holds. Instead of retargeting, staff may want to use the checkin modifiers as shown in the New Items and Holds page in the Cataloging in NC Cardinal knowledge book to check in In process items.

4.4. Pull List and Capturing Holds

If an item on the holds pull list is missing or damaged, you can change its status directly from the holds pull list.

4.5. Holds Shelf Management

 

The NC Cardinal consortium has agreed that all libraries will allow patrons 7 days to pickup their holds, so staff should clear items from the hold shelf after 7 days. Library staff should review the holds shelf (both physically and electronically) on a daily basis to pull expired and cancelled holds. 

Items with Ready-for-Pickup status are on the Holds Shelf. The Holds Shelf can help you manage items on the holds shelf. To see the holds shelf list, select Circulation → Holds Shelf.                                                                

 

The Holds Shelf is displayed and should match the items on the library's physical holds shelf. Note the Actions menu is available, as in the patron record.

 

 

Use the column picker to add and remove fields from this display. For example, you may want to display are Shelf Expire Time.

 

 

Extending Shelf Expire Time

In some cases, a hold may be extended (for a brief period) as a courtesy to patrons, but staff must first check for any other patron holds by going to the bibliographic record and clicking View Holds, ensuring that Pickup Library is set to CARDINAL to see all holds for the consortium.

 

If there are no untargeted holds on the waiting list, a brief extension may be granted by staff when the patron is planning to pick up the item in another day or two by:

Checking the box next to the line item you wish to edit. Select Edit Hold Dates on the Actions menu.

Check the box next to Shelf Expire Date. Enter date or use the calendar widget to choose the new date, then click Submit.

 

 

 

 

Click the Show Clearable Holds button to list expired holds, wrong-shelf holds and canceled holds only. Expired holds are holds that expired before today’s date. Hold shelf expire time is inserted when a hold achieves On holds shelf status. It is calculated based on the interval entered in Local Admin → Library Settings → Default hold shelf expire interval, which is 7 days for all of NC Cardinal.                                                                                                             

 

 

Click the Print Full List button if you need a printed list. To format the printout customize the Holds Shelf receipt template. This can be done in Administration → Workstation → Print Templates.

 

 

The easier way to clear these stale holds is to use the list (on screen or printed) to pull the physical items from your holds shelf, then scan the items using the Check In screen with check in modifier Clear Holds Shelf selected. The physical holds shelf should also be routinely checked for any items on the shelf for longer than 7 library business days. 

 

 

 

 

The Clear These Holds button becomes enabled when viewing clearable holds. We recommend that staff pull items from the holds shelf (physically) before clearing the holds shelf (electronically) within Evergreen. If staff choose to do so, it is possible to click the highlighted Clear These Holds button to cancel the expired holds. The items will show a status of Canceled in the Browse Holds Shelf screen and the Post-Clear column will show important information about what should happen next with the items, such as Needed for Hold, Needed for Transit, and Reshelve. Staff must still physically check in these items to complete the process.

1. Staff must check in each item removed from the holds shelf to make it Available for circulation or trigger action to get the item to the next hold in line (capture for hold or put item in transit). 
2. The clear-hold-shelf function cancels shelf-expired holds only. It does not include holds canceled by patron. Staff needs to trace these items manually according to the hold slip date.

4.6. Alternate Hold Pick up Location

Alternate Hold Pick up Location

Abstract

This feature enables libraries to configure an alternate hold pick up location. The alternate pick up location will appear in the staff client to inform library staff that a patron has a hold waiting at that location. In the stock Evergreen code, the default alternate location is called "Behind Desk".

Configuration

The alternate pick up location is disabled in Evergreen by default. It can be enabled by setting Holds: Behind Desk Pickup Supported to True in the Library Settings Editor.

Libraries can also choose to give patrons the ability to opt-in to pick up holds at the alternate location through their OPAC account. To add this option, set the OPAC/Patron Visible field in the User Setting Type Hold is behind Circ Desk to True. The User Setting Types can be found under Administration → Server Administration → User Setting Types.

Display

When enabled, the alternate pick up location will be displayed under the Holds button in the patron account.

If configured, patrons will see the option to opt-in to the alternate location in the Account Preferences section of their OPAC Account.

4.7. Hopeless Holds

Hopeless Holds

Please visit the Hopeless Holds page in the Reports knowledge book for the video and instructions (also attached as a pdf to this page). This reporting and spreadsheet comparison process generates a list of holds on bibliographic records that no longer have any viable copies, built using two Evergreen reports combined in MS Excel with the VLOOKUP function.