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Foley Library User Services Training Guide

Holds shelf

What is a hold?

A hold is anything that a patron has requested through the library catalog. A hold might be owned by Foley or Chastek (Gonzaga's law library) or it might be on loan to us through Summit, or ILL. The holds shelf (or pick-up shelf) is located on the left side of the circulation workroom. All holds will be on the same shelf, no matter which library owns it.

Sometimes patrons will not understand the difference between a hold and a course reserve. Please be patient and ask clarifying questions to help narrow down what they need. If they say something like, "I have something on reserve for me," ask questions like, "Do you mean on course reserve or is it something that you requested for pick up?" Course reserves are requested by professors for their class to use, so if the patron mentions the name of a professor and says the professor put the book on hold for them, this often means that the patron is actually looking for a course reserve item.

How to check out a hold

When a patron comes up to the desk, they will usually say something along the lines of, "I got an email saying I have a book on the hold shelf." Open "Manage Patron Services" in Alma and have them tap their Zagcard. Any requests that are on the hold shelf will be listed under their "Requests" tab in Alma. While their account is pulled up, go find their item(s) on the hold shelf.

The holds shelf is alphabetized from A-Z by the patron's last name--however sometimes it does get out of order. If a patron's account shows that an item is ready for them on the holds shelf and you are not finding the item where it should be, start by checking the entire holds shelf for it, in case it was misshelved. If you are still not able to find the item, ask a supervisor for help.

Once you have the book(s), the checkout process is the same for any type of book, whether it is Foley-owned, Summit, or ILL. Scan the item barcode to check out the book. Due dates will vary depending on whether the item is ILL, Summit, or Foley-owned. Tell them their due dates, and remember to desensitize the book(s) before you give the patron the book(s).

 

Keeping the Hold Shelf Tidy

It is important to keep the hold shelf tidy and keep patron items in alphabetical order. During peak times, the hold shelf can get very full, and it is easy for holds to get pushed to the back or for bookstraps to get tangled up and ripped. Please take care whenever you pull a hold or add items to the hold shelf to keep everything in order and tidy.

7 Days for Holds

We keep items on the hold shelf for 7 days. After that time, we clear the items and reshelve them or send them back to the lending library.

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