Suspending and Reactivating Holds

When your name reaches the top of the hold list, the item is held for you at the check out desk you specified when placing the hold. You have seven days to pick up the item. If you do not pick up the item in seven days, it goes to the next person on the list, or is reshelved if no one is waiting for it.

When an item has a long wait list, the last thing you want is to miss picking up your item on time. This could mean putting your name back on a long list and waiting to make it to the top of the list all over again. For example, perhaps you're next in line for an item, but you're going on vacation for three weeks. In this situation, you might miss the window of opportunity for picking up your requested item.

The ability to suspend and reactivate a hold solves this problem. When you suspend a hold, you freeze your spot in the hold queue. While your hold is suspended, others on the wait list "leapfrog" over you. When you reactivate your hold, other patrons no longer leapfrog over you, you resume your previous position in the holds queue, and you move up the list again. The following steps detail the steps involved in suspending a hold:

1. Log into your library patron account.
   
   
2. On the green bar near the top of the screen, click on the 'Requests' button.
   
   
3. Check the boxes next to the items for which you'd like to suspend holds.
   
   
4. Below the list of items, click on the link that reads 'Suspend/Reactivate Selected Requests'.
   
   
   
   
5. In the screen that appears, enter a new activation date for the items you wish to suspend according to the example shown (i.e. MM/DD/YY). Note: this would be the day, for example, that you will be returning from your vacation.
   
   
6. Click the 'Submit' button.
   
   
7. A message will appear letting you know your request was processed.
   
   
8. Click the 'Back to requests' link.

The status of the hold(s) you suspended will be 'Inactive'.

Your hold will become active again when the new activation date arrives. If you wish to reactivate a hold before that date, you can do so manually be repeating steps 3-6 and entering today's date when prompted for a new activation date.