Check & Place Holds

Most library materials* available to check out can be placed on hold through the Library catalog. If you opted for email or SMS notifications on your library account, you will be notified via email or text when your hold request is available for pick up.

You can have up to 50 total hold requests at one time. This includes holds that are available and pending.

How to Place a Hold Request

  1. Open the Library Catalog and click on 'Log In' (top right of library catalog page), or, sign into your account directly from this page.
  2. Log into your account with your Library card number and PIN.
  3. Search for what you want in the catalog.
  4. After finding a desired item, click the "Place Request" option near the item of your choice. Note: You may not be able to place a hold if an item is still in processing.
  5. A new window opens where you need to enter your Library card number and PIN (password).
  6. Select the branch where you want to pick up your hold.
  7. If you want the item as soon as possible, leave the activation date as the current date. If you want the item at a future date, you can set the activation date to a desired future date (this is the date when the system will attempt to fill the hold).
  8. You will be notified when your hold is available.

* Holds cannot be placed on Lucky Day books or reference materials.

Light bulb shiningIf your first selection is checked out, look for other editions of the same title that may be available sooner. You may be able to find the same item with a different binding, or copyright date. Library staff can assist you with placing holds by telephone, or in the library.

How do I check on my hold’s status?

The easiest way to check on your hold’s status is to log into your library account, then navigate to your Requests page. It’ll look something like this:

 check and place holds

 

Under Requests (found in the left sidebar menu or under “My Account” in the top drop-down menu), you will see: 

  • The list of items you have on hold, as well as each item’s Status, Hold Position (i.e. where you are in the queue or wait list for the item), Pickup Library, and Format.
  • At the bottom of the list, you will see controls for changing your pickup location, canceling holds, and suspending/reactivating holds. 
  • There will also be a button for refreshing eContent, which will allow you to see your Overdrive/Libby holds as well. 

What are Hold Statuses?

There are several hold statuses. Items with a status of Held are ready to pick up. That means you can come to the Library location you requested and pick it up

If an item’s status is anything other than Held, your hold is not ready to pick up.


What do the other statuses mean? Fortunately, we have a chart for that:

Active

Your hold has been placed in the queue with anyone else who has requested the item.

The hold has not yet been filled.

Pending

An item is available at a Placer County Library location, but has not yet been sent to your pickup library.

Shipped

The item has been sent from another Placer County Library location,

but has not yet arrived at the pickup library.

Held

The item you requested is now available for you to pick up. Yay!

Inactive

Your hold has an activation date in the future.

The activation date is the earliest date a hold could be filled.

 Usually, the activation date is set on the date a hold has been placed,

but you are able to change this when you placed your hold and

if you did not want your item to arrive before a certain date (such as if you are going on vacation and

want your hold to activate after you return).

You will not lose your place in line if your hold is inactive.

Expired

If a hold request is not filled with a specific period of time, the request status automatically changes to

Expired. Usually this occurs when there are no items available to fill your hold or another customer has 

item out and it is long overdue or lost.

On Order

The item has been ordered by the library, but has not yet arrived.

Unclaimed

Your hold was not picked up and has expired. It will be canceled.

Canceled

Your hold has been canceled. See a librarian if you wish to reactivate this hold.

 

You can also call one of our library locations to check on your hold status. We would be happy to check on that for you.

Import Holds Information

Important_iconYou have 10 days to pick up a hold once its status is Held and it is ready for pick up. If you do not pick it up by the end date, the status on your account moves to Unclaimed and if there are any other customers waiting for the item, the hold request moves on to them. You can always put these items back on hold, but you will be added to the bottom of any existing queue/waitlist.