Fw: [Publib] bestseller service

[Julie Bauer]

Matt Shaw said:

"The other problem that we have is a technical one. The ILS that we had
for years was nimble enough to remove patrons from the hold list if they
checked out a Pop copy while waiting for a hold copy. The ILS that we
have had for the past 3 years, however, does not remove the patron from
the hold list. We run a report once a week and then, consulting the
report, remove customers from the hold lists manually, which, though
fairly successful, is a big pain. The alternative is that the patron is
notified of an available hold and then drives to the library only to
find that they have already read the book."

At my FPOW, we encouraged people to check out "speed reads" while they waited for their name to get to the top of the hold list, especially if the book was very long.  It made it easier for folks to finish the books before they had to give them up to the next reader in line, especially since they couldn't renew if someone was waiting.

Julie Bauer
Collection Development Librarian
Loudoun County Public Library
Leesburg, Virginia