Periodicals and Holds

["CAROLYN ROKKE" <CROKKE@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello,

We're new users of III's MilSer - we're ready to start using the system officially and are writing the loan rule for periodicals.  Our main point of contention has been whether to make periodicals holdable.

Staff wants to let patrons request periodicals, just as they do anything else we check out.  Unfortunatly, the paging list does not print volume information.  We contacted III about this & the response was "you're right, it doesn't."  It seems like it would be a goose chase for staff to search through and match barcodes to fill a hold.

Also, because patrons would need to choose a volume when placing the hold, we fear our branches at the top of the alphabet will be filling all the periodical holds, making an unbalanced load.

Feedback on what others are doing would be appreciated:
1.  Do you allow periodical holds?
2.  How does staff FIND them to fill the hold?
3.  If you're multi-branch, is there anything you've found to help balance the periodicals load for patron-placed holds?

Thanks!
Carolyn




Carolyn Rokke
Automation Program Manager
Sacramento Public Library
Sacramento, CA 95814
crokke@xxxxxxxxxx