Getting Started in Demand Management

Demand Management allows libraries more flexibility and control placing and satisfying holds. These FAQs provide an overview of the Demand Management feature.

What is the Demand Management feature?

Demand Management allows libraries to have more flexible control over placing and satisfying holds on their items. There are various types of holds available in Demand Management. Staff members and users of multilibrary systems using Demand Management can specify a range of records on which the hold is to be placed: system range, group range, or library range.

By defining various policies, libraries can control whether or not a hold can be placed on an item, and which user will receive the item when it becomes available. Instead of considering holds only in the order they appear in the hold queue, a library in a multilibrary system can give priority to its own users so that they receive the items first. A library in a multilibrary system can give priority to users in its library group, or prevent holds from being placed on its available materials.

Libraries have the ability to temporarily suspend a user’s hold. Suspending a hold prevents the hold from being filled for a specified period of time. Even though the hold cannot be filled or trapped during the designated time period, the hold retains its place in the hold queue. When the suspension period ends, the hold can be filled when the item becomes available and the hold is the first qualified hold for the item.

Demand Management also allows library staff to clear the Holds shelf of items with canceled or expired holds, so that material can be given to another user in the hold queue or returned to its usual shelf location.

The system can be configured to allow filling a hold with the first holdable item (based on Demand Management policies) received at the pickup library—be it a checked in item or an item in transit. (To pre-empt another item currently in transit, the library where the item is checked in or received must match the pickup library.) When items are checked in, the system will check for outstanding holds, including holds that have been flagged to be filled but are not yet Available. If the item can fill the hold, it will be trapped to fill the hold and the hold will become available. When the item in transit is received at the pickup library, it will either be used to fill other holds or be routed back to the items owning library.

What are Hold Levels in Demand Management?

Every hold has a level to indicate the extent of the hold. Information about each hold and its hold level are stored in the hold record. A hold can be a Title level hold or Copy level hold. If your library is part of a multilibrary system, these holds are applied across a range of item records to further indicate the extent of the hold.

Title Level Hold

A Title level hold places a hold on all copies of the title whose call numbers’ analytic portions (part, volume, or number) are the same, regardless of the base call numbers.

If a hold is placed on a specific volume of a multivolume set, Demand Management checks the call number’s |z field, which stores the part, volume, or number. If the |z subfield differs from the base call number, then Demand Management detects that the item is a volume from a multivolume set. Demand Management places a hold on the requested volume, and changes the label for the hold level from Title to Volume. The hold is now considered a Volume level hold. Volume level holds are considered a function of a Title level hold. The hold can only be filled by a copy of the requested volume, not just any volume in the multivolume set.

When determining if a copy of a multivolume set will fill the hold, Demand Management compares the data in the copy’s |z field to the |z field information for the requested volume. The information in the |z field, including capitalization and punctuation, must match exactly for Demand Management to consider the copy for filling the hold.

Copy Level Hold

A Copy level hold creates a hold on a specific physical copy of a title. If the copy is not qualified to fill the hold, the station operator is prompted for an override code to place the hold on the copy that would otherwise be considered ineligible for the hold.

Demand Management will not prevent the station operator from placing a hold that can never be filled, so exercise caution when entering an override code to place a hold on a copy that would not normally be considered to fill the hold.

What are Record Ranges in Demand Management?

Holds can be placed across a collection of item records. This collection of item records is called the record range. Types of record ranges include the System range, Group range, and Library range.

The range only applies to Title level holds. Range types are not used for Copy level holds because a Copy level hold is placed on a specific item.

You can select a range only if your library is part of a multilibrary system. All holds are applied across the Library range of records if your library is a single library system.

System Range

The System range applies the Title level hold on all copies in the system that are eligible to fill the hold. If no qualified copies exist for the title, the station operator is prompted for an override code to place the hold on copies that would otherwise be considered ineligible for the hold.

Demand Management will not prevent the operator from placing a hold that can never be filled, so exercise caution when entering an override code to place a hold on a copy that would not normally be considered to fill the hold.

Group Range

The Group range applies a Title level hold across all libraries listed in Hold Group Libraries attribute of the station operator’s Library policy. The hold is placed on items belonging to any library in the group of libraries to which the station operator belongs.

The system can be configured so that Group range is applied to all libraries listed in the Hold Group Libraries attribute of the Library’s policy for the hold pickup library.

Library Range

The Library range applies a Title level hold on copies available in the item’s library.

How do I place holds in Demand Management?

You can use the Place Hold wizard to create a hold, or allow your patrons to use the iBistro/iLink e-Library or WebCat to place a hold. In the Place Hold wizard, you can specify the hold level, and the record range for the hold (if applicable). You can also enter dates to suspend and unsuspend a hold while you place the hold. This feature is useful if the user will be on vacation or academic break when the item becomes available, since the user’s hold can resume its place in the hold queue when the suspension period ends.

The hold range may change from a system hold to a group range hold when a hold is placed through the OPAC, if your system is configured to check for available/holdable items that belong to the hold pickup library’s hold group and automatically update the hold range to group range hold.

Demand Management checks for certain conditions to be met before placing the hold. A number of restrictions may prevent a hold from being placed; however, in some cases you will be able to place the hold anyway by entering an override code. You should exercise caution when entering an override code to place the hold because you may create a hold that can never be filled. If you create a hold that can never meet the requirements to satisfy the hold, the hold will never be considered by Demand Management when the item becomes available. When you use an override code to place a hold, the Available or Unavailable hold glossary in the Display User Holds wizard or Display Item Holds wizard shows a Y (yes) in the No Hold Allowed Override field.

Once requirements for placing the hold are met, or if an override code is entered, Demand Management places the hold.

How do I determine a user’s position in the hold queue?

When more than one user places a hold on a single item, a hold list (queue) forms. Any number of users can wait in the hold queue. A user’s position in the hold queue depends on the following criteria.

Available holds are disregarded when calculating the user’s position in the hold queue. In addition, only holds that belong to a library in which the user is allowed to place holds are counted.

Libraries may not find the hold queue position information useful. With Demand Management, the priority of a hold may be based on which library’s copy becomes available first, and on the settings of the Hold Map policy. Because these factors determine which user in the queue receives the item, not the user’s current position in the hold queue, SirsiDynix recommends turning off the hold queue display in the iBistro/iLink e-Library or WebCat.

How can I reorder the hold queue for a title?

To reorder the hold queue for a title, use the Reorder Hold Queue wizard. This wizard allows you to re-order the hold queue for a title and move a hold or group of holds up or down in the queue. Only unavailable/active holds (including suspended unavailable/active holds) can be reordered by this wizard. For information about how to use this wizard, see the Reorder Hold Queue Wizard topic.

What does it mean when I reorder the queue for a title?

After reordering the hold queue using the Reorder Hold Queue wizard, the order of the holds in the holds list only indicates the order in which holds will be considered to be filled. How the holds are filled after reordering depends on Demand Management policies, hold ranks, and hold priorities.

If holds have not been previously reordered, the holds in the holds list will initially display in date placed order in the Reorder Hold Queue wizard.

The Hold Map policies affect hold priorities and will affect how the holds are filled once they have been reordered. If hold priorities are set equally in the Hold Map policies and system range holds are placed, then the holds list displayed in the Reorder Hold Queue wizard will be a fair representation of how the holds will be filled.

However, if priorities are not set equally in the Hold Map policies, then the holds list is only a representation of how these holds will be considered for fulfillment.

System Range Holds Examples

For example, the following holds exist in the list for a title (not all fields display in this table).

And, you decide to move two holds (for Sam and Cindy) to the top of the list. The hold priorities for all Hold Map policies that affect the Main and Green libraries are set to NONE.

Since the hold map priorities are set to NONE and all holds are system range holds, after reordering the holds, the resulting holds list represents how these holds will be filled.

You have the following holds list for a new title (not all fields are listed).

You decide to move the holds for Jessie, Jane, and Greg to the top of the list. But, the Hold Map policies for Green library’s new titles (GR_NEWBK) are set to priority OWN_LIB which indicates that Green library users have priority for items owned by Green.

After reordering the holds, the resulting holds list only represents how these holds will be considered to be filled because Green library users will have priority for new titles. If an item belonging to Green became available, Peter and Pattie would get the new book before Greg, since Greg is a Main library user.

Group Range Holds Example

To illustrate the affects of reordering group range holds, you have the following holds list for a new title (not all fields are listed).

In this example, group range holds are configured to use the hold group of the holds pickup library.

You decide to move the holds for Jessie, Jane, and Greg to the top of the list.

After reordering the holds, the result holds list only represents how these holds will be considered to be filled because items that belong to the holds pickup library will only be used to fill the group range holds. As a result, Cindy or George could get the new book before Greg if an item belonging to Main or Green becomes available first. This is because Greg placed a group range hold for pickup at PARKER, and only items belonging to PARKER or HUNT can fill the group range hold.

What happens to holds placed after a hold queue is reordered?

Any new holds placed after a hold queue is re-ordered will be placed within the queue based on date placed and their hold rank.

How are holds satisfied in Demand Management?

The hold queue is processed when the item becomes available. The first qualified hold is satisfied according to the default configuration of hold priority (user library or pickup library), and the hold policies, including the Hold Map policy. In determining which hold to make available, SirsiDynix Symphony checks the hold’s user library, pickup library, and priority, then its rank, and then its creation date to determine which hold to make available. Suspended holds are not filled during the hold’s suspension period.

If the user does not pick up an available item, you can decide what actions to take based on your library’s procedures and the hold’s expiration date.

How do I suspend a hold?

When you place or modify a hold in Demand Management, you can prevent the hold from being filled for a specified period of time. Even though the hold cannot be filled or trapped during the designated time period, the hold retains its place in the hold queue. Such a hold is called a “suspended hold.” When the suspension period ends, the hold can be filled when the item becomes available and the hold is the first qualified hold for the item. The suspended hold feature is useful for patrons who may be on vacation or academic break while they are waiting for an item to become available.

A hold can be suspended when it is placed with the Place Hold wizard, or suspended later when the hold is modified using the Modify Item Holds wizard or the Modify User Holds wizard. In these wizards, the operator can enter the date the hold suspension is to start, and the date the hold suspension is to end. Holds can be suspended indefinitely by entering NEVER in the Date Unsuspended box in the Place Hold, Modify Item Holds, or Modify User Holds wizards.

What are inactive holds?

In Demand Management, holds are marked INACTIVE when they are canceled, expired, or filled. When a hold is marked INACTIVE, the hold is no longer in effect. The item can be reshelved, or it is made available for the next active hold. The inactive hold record is not physically removed so SirsiDynix Symphony can determine if a hold was available or not before it was canceled.

The hold record is updated to include reason for the inactive hold, and the date the hold became inactive. Reasons for inactive holds are defined in the Hold Reason policy. The inactive hold reason is set on the hold record automatically depending on how the hold was made inactive (hold was canceled, hold expired, hold was filled, or hold was canceled because the item was placed on reserve).

WebCat, the iBistro/iLink e-Library, and SirsiDynix Symphony cannot display inactive holds and inactive hold information. However, you can manage inactive holds using the following reports. You can select inactive holds on any report that has a selection for hold status.

How do I clear the Holds Shelf of items that have canceled holds?

The Remove Item Hold wizard and Remove User Hold wizard are delivered with the Remove From Holds Shelf property available. If this property is selected, SirsiDynix Symphony will automatically make the next hold available (if applicable), or instruct you as to what action to perform next, such as putting the item in transit to another library or reshelving the item in your library.

If the Remove From Holds Shelf property is cleared for the Remove User Hold and Remove Item Hold wizards, you can do the following to clear the Holds shelf manually.

What effect does Demand Management have on the iBistro/iLink e-Library and WebCat?

In Demand Management, it will have some effect on how you and your patrons use the iBistro/iLink e-Library or WebCat to place holds on materials.

For holds placed through the iBistro/iLink, you can configure the system to change the range of the hold from System range to Group range hold if there is an available/holdable item that belongs to the pickup library’s hold group. This configuration setting (group_range_hold_library) is intended to help reduce transit time between libraries by changing the range of the hold so that only items belonging to the pickup library’s hold group would fill the hold. (Contact SirsiDynix Customer Support for instructions on setting this configuration.)

What policies must I define to use Demand Management effectively?

Most of the policies that must be defined for you to use Demand Management effectively are in the Circulation Configuration policy group. The Circulation Map and Hold Map policies should be edited to customize Demand Management for your library. The Library and Location policies in the General Configuration policy group should also be changed for your library to manage holds.

The following list shows which policies need to be modified. Click any of the links for detailed information about these policies.

The following sections describe how some of these policies interact with Demand Management.

Circulation Map Policy

The Circulation Map policy determines the Circulation Rule to use when an item is charged to a user. With Demand Management, the Circulation Map policy is the primary limiter of whether or not an item can have holds placed on it. A user can place a hold only on items that he or she can check out. If a user is not permitted to check out an item, he or she cannot place a hold on the item. No additional policies need to be set up to prevent holds on items that the user cannot check out.

Although the Circulation Map policy usually determines if an item can have holds placed on it, the Hold Map policy can be used to prevent holds on items that the Circulation Map permits to circulate. If an Item Type circulates but is not holdable, add an entry to the Hold Map policy to prevent holds on that Item Type.

Location Policy

A Location policy describes the geographic location, a collection, or conceptual location of a physical object owned by your library. Each item has a home Location and current Location. The item is at its home Location whenever it is not charged. The current Location always reflects where the item is now, charged or not.

A hold can only be placed on an item with a holdable current location. The Location policy determines whether a location is holdable or not, but it is not the only policy that prevents holds from being placed on an item.

In the Location policy, the Available attribute is used by Demand Management when it performs its checks for placing a hold. In libraries that do not allow holds for onshelf, available items, the Available attribute can be used to prevent items in one or more locations from being considered as “available” when a hold is placed. Select the Available check box to make this Location policy available or clear the check box to make this Location policy unavailable.

For examples of how this Available Hold Location feature is implemented, see FAQs: Available Hold Location Examples.

In Demand Management, the Circulation Map policy and Hold Map policy are the best methods for preventing holds on an item. The only locations that you should define as not holdable are those that indicate the material is unavailable and not likely to become available. For example, locations such as MISSING, LOST-CLAIM, and DISCARD should not be holdable.

For information on how to make certain Item Types not holdable, go to FAQs: Creating Circulation Maps.

For information about which locations should not permit holds, go to FAQs: Working with Location Policies.

Hold Permissions Libraries Attribute in the Library Policy

The Hold Permissions Libraries attribute in the Library policy defines which library’s station operators are generally allowed to place holds on its materials.

Hold Group Libraries Attribute in the Library Policy

The Hold Group Libraries attribute in the Library policy is used only by Demand Management. This attribute defines which libraries are considered a“virtual” group with the library for holds. Groups are defined in the Library Group policy.

Because a library’s Hold Group Libraries configuration defines both the libraries that its station operators belong to (for placing Group range holds) and the group of libraries that its items are associated with (for the hold map “my group only” permission and “my group first” priority), hold groups should generally be created with a reciprocal relationship between libraries. For instance, if Library A is in Library B’s group, then Library B should be in Library A’s group.

Hold Available Item Libraries Attribute in the Library Policy

In Demand Management, this attribute controls which libraries’ users may place holds on this library’s available items (items already available on the shelf). The Hold Available Item Libraries also controls when available items appear on the List Onshelf Items with Holds report.

Your library must be listed in the Hold Available Item Libraries attribute in your library’s Library policy for you to be able to place holds on available material in your library. For information on configuring the Hold Available Item Libraries attribute, go to FAQs: Selecting Values for the Hold Available Item Libraries Attribute.

Hold Map Policy

The Hold Map policy narrows the scope of a hold by using permissions or hold priorities. Once you create other hold-related policies, use the Hold Map policy to limit which item types are holdable.

The Hold Map policy is similar to the Circulation Map policy, but is used to control whether holds may be placed by users, instead of control how items are charged to users. This feature helps libraries manage the placement of holds across libraries by particular users for particular types of items. When a hold is placed, SirsiDynix Symphony finds a map that contains the library the item is from, the User Profile policy of the user placing the hold, and the Item Type policy of the item.

A Permission is assigned to each map to determine who can place holds for that item. A Priority is assigned to help determine where the user placing the hold is in the queue.

Demand Management uses the priority and the default configuration of priority (by user library or pickup library) when determining which user’ hold to satisfy. You should exercise care in setting the priority in the hold map and in configuring the default priority for holds to be satisfied as your library expects. For more information, see FAQ: Making Hold Maps.

Related topics 

Hold Levels

Hold Queues

Hold Records

Record Ranges

Place Hold Wizard

Modify Item Holds Wizard

Modify User Holds Wizard

Check Item Status Wizard

Clean Holds Shelf Report

Expire Available Holds Report

Expire Holds Report

Purge Inactive Holds Report

FAQs: Understanding Holds

FAQs: Selecting Values for the Hold Available Item Libraries Attribute

FAQs: Suspending Holds

FAQs: Creating Circulation Maps

FAQs: Making Hold Maps

FAQs: Working with Location Policies

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