Holds Progression (Sierra)
This documentation details how holds progress through the system for both MLN1 and MLN2.
Table of Contents
This documentation does not detail the progression of INN-Reach (Prospector) holds. For information about placing and filling INN-Reach holds, see the Holds Process for Sierra, Pika, and Prospector documentation.
Holds Progression
Both the MLN1 and MLN2 servers use Title Priority Paging setup and holds progress through the system in four main steps: the hold is placed, the hold is paged, the hold is filled, and the patron is notified.
Hold is Placed
Patrons or staff place a hold using Pika or Sierra. For more information on placing holds in Pika or Sierra, see the Holds Process for Sierra, Pika, and Prospector documentation.
It is recommended that library staff use Pika to place holds rather than Sierra whenever possible
There are two types of holds: Title level (also referred to as bib level) and item level hold.
A title level hold refers to a hold placed on an entire bibliographic work, such as a book or a DVD; hence, title level holds are sometimes referred to as "bibliographic level holds." With the title level hold, a patron will place a hold on the first available copy of a title. A title level hold can be satisfied when any eligible item, based on loan rules, is available on the bibliographic record.
The most important button for placing a bibliographic or title level hold in Sierra is the Hold Copy Returned Soonest. This will place the hold on the bibliographic record and not an individual item.
An item level hold refers to a hold placed on a specific copy of that work, such as a particular book edition or DVD. An item level hold can be satisfied when that item is available, such as when it is returned to the library system.
The most important button for placing an item level hold in Sierra is the Hold Selected Item. This will place the hold on the specific item and not on the bibliographic record.
For more information on the two different types of holds, see the Differences Between Bib and Item level Holds documentation.
Hold is Paged
Title level holds:
Paging occurs at the pickup location first, as long as the pickup location has an item that can fill the hold.
If the pickup location is unable to fill the hold within 48 hours or there is no eligible item at the pickup location, the second tier of paging occurs at the agency level (library locations within the same agency as the pickup location, such as branch locations in a library district).
The order of subsequent locations is determined by paging priority, which is set in the Sierra Hold Pickup Locations table.
Marmot currently has the paging priority set up to account for geographic priority and library size.
The system will page entries with higher assigned priorities first. For example, a library with an assigned priority of 1 will be paged before a library with an assigned priority of 2. If a library has an entry of 0 in the table, it will never be paged. This is reserved for libraries with very limited hours, such as a library that is only open one day a week. If several libraries have the same priority assigned, the system randomly chooses from those libraries. An assigned priority of 999 is a wildcard.
The system will cycle through all of the entries in the paging priority table until the hold is filled or the system has gone through the entries twice, whichever comes first. If the hold is not filled after two cycles, the hold is retained as a title level hold but will not be paged again. In this instance, the hold can be identified in the Manage Outstanding Holds function.
Note: at any time in the cycle, the cycle can be interrupted when an eligible item is checked in that can fill the title level hold, regardless of the library. For example, if there is a local copy available and that library has not yet filled the hold when another library checks in an eligible copy, that checked-in item will fulfill the hold. To place a hold on a specific item, see the item level holds information.
Item level holds
Item level holds do not appear in the Item Paging Notices unless you click the Place hold; print paging slip button. This will page for the item the next time you run your Item Paging Notices.
Note: The Place hold; print paging slip button will only work if the item is checked out, or the item level hold is placed by another library. An item level hold will not be paged if the hold is placed on an item that is available at your library, because the system thinks you will go and get the item right away. It has been suggested to Innovative, the company that owns Sierra, that libraries would prefer the item to be paged regardless, but this feature has not been implemented yet.
The item level hold will remain in the item level hold queue until it is filled. To identify item level holds that have not been paged, run the Manage Holds report for your library or branch. Toggle the Hold Status to show all the item level holds.
Hold is Filled
Title level holds:
Generally, title level holds will be filled based on the order of placement. However, there are a few things that can alter the fulfillment:
A Not Wanted Before date is attached to the hold. A Not Wanted Before date can be manually added when staff places the hold through Sierra or by freezing a hold on Pika. For more information on why Not Wanted Before dates are added to items, see the Freezing Holds patron documentation. When a hold is frozen through Pika, the Not Wanted Before date will automatically be set to 255 days from the hold creation date. For more information, see the Sierra Freezing Holds Logic documentation.
Preference is given to patrons who select the hold pickup location that matches the owning library. For example, if a Bemis patron places a hold on a Bemis item for pickup at Bemis, that hold will be filled for the Bemis patron first, even if the patron is not first in the queue.
Preference is also given based on Agency. If there is no hold for a patron where the hold pickup location matches the owning library, the hold will fill for the first patron where the item’s agency matches that of the patron agency, even if the patron is not first in the queue. For example, if both a Gunnison and Rifle patron have a title level hold and an item that can fill that hold becomes available at Glenwood Springs, the hold will be filled for the Rifle patron first because both the item and the patron are part of the same agency, Garfield County.
This differs slightly for MLN2, due to the ability of patrons to place holds for pickup at any library location. Instead, the Agency preference looks for holds where the item’s agency matches the hold pickup location’s agency.
Item level
An item level hold can be satisfied when that item is available, such as when it is returned to the library system.
Not Wanted Before dates cannot be set for item level holds. For more information, see the Sierra Freezing Holds Logic documentation.
Hold Fulfillment and Prospector Holds
Prospector holds are always item-level holds, and will be filled when the item is returned or paged if the item is available, as long as there is not a local bib-level or item-level hold that is eligible to be filled first based on preference or time of placement.
The hold fulfillment structure when there are both Marmot and Prospector holds is as follows:
Local Preference
Agency Preference
Order of Placement, including Prospector/INN-Reach holds
Patron is Notified
Notification
When the hold is checked in at the pickup location, the item status will be updated to “!” (on holdshelf). As soon as the status is “!”, the system queues a notification to be sent.
Note: Occasionally, patrons will be notified that a hold is ready for pickup when it is not. When an item with a hold has its status updated to “!” the system automatically queues the notification to be sent. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent this notice from being sent, even if you change the status from “!” to something else.
The notification will be sent when the library runs its hold pickup notice job.
If the loan rule for the item does not have a hold pickup notice text set, the hold pickup notice will fail to send. To view the loan rules for your library, navigate to the Loan Rule table via the following path in Sierra: Admin > Parameters > Circulation > Loan Rules. If you’re unable to view the table or have questions about the loan rules for your library, contact Marmot.
The form in which patrons will receive the hold pickup notice is based on the settings in their patron record.
In the Notice Preference fixed length field, patrons can opt to receive notices via print (a printed notification that is then mailed by library staff), email, or phone. For information on troubleshooting email notifications for patrons, see the FAQ section of the Notices documentation. If the patron has chosen phone as their notification preference, they will only receive a phone notification if they are also signed up for Shoutbomb.
A patron can sign up for phone or text notifications using the variable-length Shoutbomb Preferences field (w) in the patron record. An entry of “s” signs the patron up for SMS (text) notifications. An entry of “v” signs the patron up for voice (phone call) notifications.
Holdshelf
When the item with the hold is checked-in at the pickup location, staff will get a holdshelf slip to print. The default holdshelf slip includes the following fields:
The TITLE variable-length field in the bibliographic record.
The CALL # variable-length field in the local bibliographic record or, if absent from the bibliographic record, from the item record.
The BARCODE variable-length field in the item record.
The PATRN NAME variable-length field in the patron record.
First and second lines of the ADDRESS variable-length field in the patron's record.
The EMAIL ADDR variable-length field in the patron record.
The TELEPHONE variable-length field in the patron record.
The pickup location as specified in the hold record.
Holdshelf slips can also be customized with print templates.
The customized slips usually include a pull date for the hold (Marmot-wide, items stay on the holdshelf for a total of 7 days and then are pulled on the 8th day).
If a library has a public holdshelf, aliases are suggested.
Other important details
Reports to use to keep holds progressing through the system:
Tableau Hold to Item ratio
Similar to high demand holds report but custom. If you’re interested in having a Tableau report made for your library, contact Marmot.