RELEASE DATE: July 9, 2010
Contact: Christine Perkins
(360) 778-7206
cperkins@cob.org
SUSPEND LIBRARY HOLDS BEFORE LEAVING FOR VACATION
The Bellingham Public Library wants to make sure that you don’t miss out on the opportunity to pick up holds that come in for you while you’re away on vacation this summer.
"It’s Murphy’s Law," explains Library Director Pamela Kiesner, "you’ve been waiting for a copy of The Help for months, then it’s finally available the week you’re out of town."
Library staff encourage you to plan ahead – and maintain your positions on holds lists – by suspending your holds until you return home. By visiting the library website at www.bellinghampubliclibrary.org and clicking on 'My Account', you can login by entering the barcode on the back of your library card, plus your PIN, which is usually the last four digits of your telephone number. Click on 'Holds' and click the check box next to the item you want to suspend. Change the date you want holds to be suspended by using the drop-down menus, and click 'change status'. You can change the status back at another time if your plans change.
If you do not have access to the Internet, you may call the Bellingham Public Library at 778-7323 (then press 2 for Circulation) to ask a staff member to suspend your holds for you.
When holds arrive, they are kept on the holds shelf at the library for eight days before being sent on to the next patron in line. At that time, holds that have not been picked up result in a $.50 expired holds fee per item.
"We want you to avoid having to pay the expired holds fee," says Kiesner, "and we want you to be able to keep your place in line, so suspending your holds is definitely the way to go."
Suspending holds can also be useful after discovering you have too many things to read or watch all at once, and you can’t possibly use them all. If you regularly place multiple items on hold , you can use the suspend feature as a way to manage your requests.
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