Holds

When a user requests an item that is available or checked out, or when a library department needs an item for mending, or reclassification, Unicorn allows a hold to be placed. When a hold is placed, a hold record is created that links the item and the specified user.

This hold record contains information about the item, the user who placed the hold, and the hold itself. Hold record information also includes the library where the hold was placed, the pickup library (at multi-library sites), the date and time the hold was placed, and the level of the hold.

When more than one user places a hold on an item, a hold list (queue) forms. Any number of users can wait in the hold queue. Unicorn uses the information in hold records, hold policies, item policies, and user profile policies to determine which user in the hold queue receives the item when it becomes available.

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