Holds & reservations
A deep dive into how member holds (reservations) work — the queue, notifications, the pickup window, and how renewals interact.
What a hold is
When every copy of a toy is out on loan, a member can place a hold to reserve the next available copy. Holds only apply to catalogue-linked toys (so the system knows the copies are the same product), and only when nothing is available to borrow right now — if a copy is on the shelf, they simply borrow it.
You turn holds on per library in Settings → Allow member holds.
The queue
Holds form a first-come, first-served queue per toy. The member who placed the hold earliest is first in line. A household can hold the same toy only once, and you can cap how many active holds a household may have at a time (Max holds per household) so a few keen families don't tie up the queue.
When a copy comes back
The moment a copy is returned (and passes its return check), the first person in the queue is notified that it's ready for them — they don't have to be watching the catalogue. The copy is set aside for them; it isn't offered to walk-ins or the next person yet.
The pickup window
That held copy waits for Pickup window (days). If the first member doesn't collect it within that window, their hold lapses and the copy passes to the next person in line (who is then notified, and their own window starts). This stops one slow member from freezing a toy indefinitely. A short window (e.g. 3–5 days) keeps popular toys moving; a longer one suits libraries open only once a week.
Holds and renewals
If someone is currently borrowing a toy that another member is now waiting for, you usually don't want the borrower to renew and jump the queue. Block renewals while reserved enforces that: a loan can't be self-renewed while there's an active hold on that toy. Staff can always override — the rule is for the member-facing flow, not a hard lock.
Staff overrides
Everything above is the automatic member-facing behaviour. Staff with the right permission can always step in: place or cancel a hold for someone, hand a returned copy to whoever is in front of them, or renew a reserved loan when it makes sense (e.g. the next person is away).