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

Go to Circulation → Hold Groups.
On the Hold Group tab, click New Hold Group.
Enter a name for the Hold Group.
Enter a description for the Hold Group (optional).
Choose the owning library from the drop-down (defaults to the workstation library).
If you want the Hold Group to be visible to the patrons on the list, check the Visible to Patrons? checkbox.
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

Go to Circulation → Hold Groups.
Double-click the name of the Hold Group you wish to add patrons to.
Go to the Add Users tab.
Scan or enter the patron barcode into the Scan Barcode field.
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.
Continue adding barcodes as needed.
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.
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

Go to Circulation → Hold Groups.
Double-click the name of the Hold Group you wish to add patrons to.
Go to the Add Users tab.
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.
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.
Click Search or hit the Enter key. Results appear in the bottom portion of the pop-up window.
Click anywhere on a row in the results list to select that patron.
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.
Continue adding patrons as needed.
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.
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.
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

Go to Search → Search for Patrons.
Enter your search criteria.
Use the checkboxes on each patron search result to select one or more patrons.
Click Add to Bucket.
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.
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

Go to Circulation → Hold Groups.
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.
Click the Hold Groups button and choose Edit Hold Group.
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

Go to Circulation → Hold Groups.
From the Hold Groups tab, double-click a Hold Group. The Hold Group will open in the Current Users tab.
Go to the Hold Events tab.
Click on New Hold Group Event.
Enter the Record ID number for the bibliographic record on which you wish to place the hold.
Use the checkbox to override all hold-blocking conditions possible if desired.
Click Create Event.

From Searching the Catalog

Search the catalog to identify the record on which you wish to place a hold.
Click “Place Hold” from the results or detailed record. The Hold Placement page appears.
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.
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.
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.

Go to Circulation → Hold Groups.
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.
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.

10.11. Hold Groups