Monday Minutes: Holds to Pull

by Kelly McElligott on Feb 19, 2024

In this week's Monday Minutes, Kelly and Jessie break down the Holds to Pull report found within the Circulation Module. This is a report that single-branch libraries will run to list all the items that need to be pulled off the shelf for patron hold requests.

Holds to Pull Report

The Holds to Pull report is a report that a library can run to find any holds that have been placed on available items within the library. This report is specific for single branch libraries- in an upcoming Monday Minutes, we will discuss the Holds Queue report built for multi-site libraries.

Process:

1. Go to Circulation > Holds to Pull

2. This will show any items on the library shelves that will need to be retrieved and checked in.

3. The process of checking the item in will trigger the hold and alert the patron that the item is ready for them (if they have opted to receive Hold notifications)

4. This report can be printed. Choose the Export on the far right of the table. Additionally, if before printing a staff member wants to customize what is printed, using the "columns" option can allow specific columns to be hidden.

System Preferences

A few system preferences that work with the Holds to Pull list include:

HoldstoPullStartDate: this will allow libraries to alter the time period of the report to pull from. If a library was only open a few days a week, and need to see what was put on hold in the last few days, this would be a good option to use.

CanMarkHoldstoPullAsLost: this would allow staff to mark items as lost directly from the Holds to Pull List. There is also an option to allow the patron to be sent a notification when the staff marks the item as lost.

UpdateItemWhenLostfromHoldsList: this system preference allows libraries to customize which lost status should the item be marked to when it is being marked lost. These statuses are getting pulled from the Authorized Value, NOT_FOR_LOAN.

Note: This last system preference is only for Item Level Holds. The option to mark an item lost/damaged does exist on the Holds to Pull List and will also send a notification to the patron.

Notices

Two notices work in conjunction with the Holds to Pull list.

CANCEL_HOLD_ON_LOST- This notice is specific to the system preference, CanMarkHoldsToPullAsLost - if set to 'Allow to mark items as lost and notify the patron'. When a staff member marks the specific item lost, the patron will receive this notification.

HOLD_CANCELLATION- this is not a default notice in Koha but can be created to send to patrons when holds are canceled, and not only from the Holds to Pull List.

Read more here about Hold Cancellation Reasons and Notices:

Hold Cancellation: Reasons and Notices