Tip for: 11.02.15

Thanksgiving, Canadian Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Yule, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day—Are you or your teachers planning lessons relating to upcoming holidays? 
How can you ensure you will have the right materials when you need them? Reserve them!

There are three ways to make sure you will have a book for your lesson: placing a hold, placing a reservation, or putting the book on reserve in the library. 

Holds are a waiting list. There’s no guarantee when you will get the book or how long you will have it. Let your students place holds on books as long as there are enough copies or a variety of titles. 

Reservations mean you can set aside specific days for a specific patron to have the book. If your teacher wants to use the book as teaching material, they (or you) can place a Reservation for the exact day (or week) they need it. 

Reserves hold the material in the library. If your teacher (or you) has assigned students to read A Christmas Carol, but there are only 3 copies, you might Reserve those copies in the library so no one else can check them out and take them away. 


To place a hold through Circulation:

  1. Make the patron the Current Patron.
  2. Type H in the Command Line to enter Hold mode.
  3. Scan the item barcode.

Note: Patrons can place their own holds through the Researcher when they are logged in. 

To place a reservation through Circulation:

  1. Make the patron the Current Patron.
  2. Type G in the Command Line to enter Reservation mode. (Think ‘get it later’.)
  3. Scan the item barcode.
  4. Choose the Start and End dates of the Reservation.
  5. Click Place Reservation.

Note: Patrons can place their own reservations through the Researcher when they are logged in. 

To reserve an item through Circulation:

  1. Make the patron the Current Patron.
  2. Type J in the Command Line to enter Reserves mode. (Think ‘just for in the library’.)
  3. Scan the item barcode.


Remember, Reserves don’t expire. When the holiday is over and your teacher doesn’t need the Reserve anymore, you will need to remove it.

  1. In Circulation, make the teacher the Current Patron.
  2. Use the Actions menu (gear) in the Current Item Pane to select Reserves. 
  3. Select the title and click on Remove.