Differences between Bibliographic or Title Level Holds and Item Level Holds

This document explains the difference between a bibliographic or title-level hold and an item-level hold on a patron’s record.

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Title Level Holds

A title-level or bib-level hold refers to a hold placed on an entire work, such as a book or a DVD, while an item-level hold refers to a hold placed on a specific copy of that work, such as an individual book or DVD.

In the Summary tab, select the entry for the item. Select the Bib-Level Holds tab.

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Title-level hold - With the title-level hold, a person will place a hold on the first available copy of a title. A title-level hold attaches to the bibliographic record for the desired title; hence, title-level holds are sometimes referred to as "bibliographic-level holds." A title-level hold can be satisfied when any eligible item, based on loan rules, is returned to the library system.

• When the MLN1 libraries place a title-level hold for a patron from the Holds tab, Sierra automatically uses the pickup location, not-wanted-before date, and not-wanted-after date specified for any subsequent holds you place for a patron. Note: Sierra does not retain these settings after you close the patron record.

  • Not Wanted Before - The patron can specify a date Sierra should not place the hold. The Not Wanted Before date can be up to 180 days from the day the patron places the hold.

  • Not Wanted After - The patron can specify a date after which the hold request will expire. If the hold is still active after this date but is not yet on the holdshelf, Sierra removes this hold when you clear expired holds. 

    • Clear Holdshelf does not clear in-transit held items with an expired Not Wanted After date. These items are cleared the next time they are checked in.

• Title-level hold queue -- A list of patrons that have placed a hold on the bibliographic or title record. 

• To learn more about placing bibliographic or Title-level holds

  • Title or Bibliographic-Level Hold 

• The most important button for placing a bibliographic or title-level hold in Sierra is the Hold Copy Returned Soonest. This button places the hold on the bibliographic record, not an individual item. 

In the Summary tab, select the entry for the item. Select the Item-Level Holds tab.

• The MLN2 libraries use the Library Priority Table. When copies are available, entering a title-level hold does not place a hold on the copy returned soonest. The system places a hold on the available item with the highest priority in the Library Priority table. However, if no items are available or if the available item's branch location has a priority of 0, the system does place a hold for the copy returned soonest. 

• The Library Priority table allows Marmot staff to set a prioritized list of library locations for use when placing requests and title-level holds on available items. For items requested via the WebPAC and for title-level holds placed by staff, if more than one copy is available, the system consults the Library Priority table to determine which branch location has the highest priority. The system then places the hold or request on the item with the highest priority. If two copies have the same priority, the system randomly chooses one for the request or hold.

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Item Level Holds

• Item-level hold - You place a hold for a patron on an item record (for example, a specific copy of a book). An item-level hold can be satisfied when that item is returned to the library system.

• Item-level

• hold queue -- A  list of patrons who have placed a hold on an item record attached to this bibliographic record.

• To learn more about item-level holds

  • Item Level Hold

• The most important button for placing an item-level hold in Sierra is the HoldSelected Item. This will place the hold on a specific item record, not the bibliographic record. 

• Issues with an item-level hold in Sierra

• 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. However, this will only work if the item is checked out or the item level hold is placed by another library.

• If you do not page for the item, one way to find your item-level holds is to run the Manage Holds report for your library or branch. Toggle the Hold Status to show all the item-level holds.

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More Hold Information

• Sierra

  • Patron Placed Holds Help

  • Holds Process for Sierra, Pika, and Prospector

  • Sierra Freezing Holds Logic for Pika

• Pika 

  • Staff Placed Holds in Pika

  • Pika Holds Process

  • Pika - Placing Holds with Linked Accounts

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FAQs

Can I copy holds from one bib or item record to another?

• No, copying holds from one bib or item record to another is not possible. Sierra allows transferring the hold queue for an item to another item on the same or linked bibliographic record but does not copy it. See Transferring an Item Level Hold to a Bib Level Hold for more information. 

If a title has both bib and item-level requests, in what order do they get filled?

• How Sierra Determines the Order in Which to Fill Holds

• How to determine whether an item satisfies a hold

• Usually, the system will fill the hold at the top of the queue (oldest placed) first unless the hold has a Not Wanted Before date that has not come up yet or if it is a Frozen hold. 

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