Prioritizing Hold Requests

Read this entire section before you try to set priorities.

 

You can prioritize the order in which Horizon fills hold requests using anywhere from 1 to 256 levels.

You can prioritize hold requests if you want to give borrowers in one group access to items on hold before borrowers in another group get access to those items. (For example, if you are a university library, you can prioritize hold requests so that faculty members advance on the holds queue list before students. Likewise, you can let students advance on the holds queue list before interlibrary loan requests or community borrowers.)

You prioritize hold requests by setting up exceptions to the default. All borrowers have equal rights for their request to enter the hold queue at the time the request is made, unless an exception exists that overrides the default.

For example, in a three-library consortium consisting of libraries A, B, and C, the system administrator of library A establishes a hold priority default of 1. Then the system administrator of library A sets up a hold request exception of 2 for library C. This would let borrowers from libraries A and B with requests on a hold list have their hold requests filled before borrowers from library C, even if library C borrowers have been on the waiting list for a longer time.

Here is a graphic example:

In this situation, students and faculty from the university advance on the holds list before borrowers from the two community colleges and the public library, even if these latter borrowers have been on the hold list for a longer time. Also, borrowers from the two community colleges will advance on a holds list before borrowers from the public library, again regardless of the how long the public library borrowers have been on the holds list. This means that borrowers from the public library have access to items on the holds list only when there are no borrowers from the university or the two community colleges on the list.

This example gives the perspective of the university library’s holds policies. The community colleges and the public library can set up their own priority levels for the items that they own.

You can set up groups of locations, BTYPEs, or ITYPEs and prioritize the groups so that Horizon identifies hold requests that are for pickup at the item’s home location first. Then Horizon can identify a priority within the cluster, and finally apply a priority between clusters. This is called a “cluster hold.” You set up a cluster hold by defining sets of Item Location Groups and Circulation Location Groups in a single Special Value.

Using the same example, the University Library would set up these special values:

Enter this in the Borrower Location Group

Enter this in the Value field

Enter this in the Item Location Group

University Library

1

University Library

Community College A

2

University Library

Community College B

2

University Library

Public Library

3

University Library

You can grant hold request priorities based on library location (including the owning location, the location where the request was placed, the location where the requester wants to pick up the item, or the requester’s home location), BTYPE, ITYPE, or combinations of these options. For example, the staff and professors at a university could have a different priority than students. Students could have different priorities depending on whether they were online students or on campus.

Before You Begin

Consider these things:

Borrowers with a priority level of zero are never placed on a holds list. If you set your default at zero, none of your default groups will ever show up on a holds list, making it easier to isolate specific exceptions for testing purposes.
You can set up groups of locations, BTYPEs, or ITYPEs and prioritize the groups so that Horizon identifies hold requests that are for pickup at the item’s home location first. Then Horizon can identify a priority within the group (or cluster), and finally apply a priority between clusters. This is called a “cluster hold.” (For more information on creating groups, see Creating or Editing Groups to Define Circulation Privileges and Parameters. For examples of setting up priorities, see Working with Parameter 29 (Request Privileges).)
You may want to map out your entire library community and the priority levels that you want to grant each section before you start. This will help you determine where to set your default and exceptions.

You can set your local default at a lower priority than the priority level of another borrower community using your library. However, this lets borrowers from the other community have access to items in your library first. (Lower priorities are indicated by higher values. “5” is a lower priority than “3.”)

To prioritize hold requests

1 Set up Request privileges (circulation parameter 29).

For general instructions, see Setting Up or Editing a Circulation Parameter. Then use the remaining steps of this task to customize the parameter.

2 In the Value field, enter any number from 0 to 255 to use as the default priority level.

Horizon gives this priority to all hold requests for which there is not an overriding exception. Entering “0” (zero) disables access to the hold list for the location, BTYPE, or ITYPE group you are setting up.

If you want to give some of your exceptions a higher priority than the default, while others have a lower priority, you should set the default value at an intermediate level, such as 50. Then you can grant some borrowers a higher priority (that is, less than 50) and others a lower priority (that is, greater than 50).

3 Do these steps in the Special Values group to set up an exception that prioritizes hold requests:
a Choose the exception that you want to change, or create a new exception.
b Enter or choose a code in one or more of the location, borrower type, or item type fields.
c In the Value field, enter a number between 0 and 255 for the priority level.

If you want to disable access to hold lists for this location or type, enter “0” (zero).

Note: The exception value set here overrides the default value for this parameter.

You have a great deal of flexibility when you create an exception. (For example, you can simply enter or choose a code in the Borrower Location Group field and apply this exception to borrowers registered at a given location, or you can use the borrower location group in combination with a specific ITYPE group.)

4 Save your changes.
5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have set up all the exceptions you want to use to prioritize your hold requests.

 


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