Un-Trap a Hold

Occasionally staff may inadvertently fill a patron's hold request with an item that is not yet ready to be re-circulated.  For instance, this might be necessary for electronic equipment that needs to be charged or items that are too damaged to circulate.  In these cases, if the staff member checks in the item and follows the prompts to remove the hold, Polaris will cancel the hold entirely and the patron will lose their position in the hold queue.

To successfully "un-trap" the hold, without affecting the patron's position in the hold queue, staff can check the item out to a test patron and reactivate the request.

It's best to un-trap a hold as soon as possible.  The longer the item is on hold, it becomes more likely that the patron has already received a notice, based on Polaris' notification schedule.  Keep this in mind and contact the patron manually if necessary.

1. Identify the specific item that is on hold for the patron. Don't cancel the request.
2. In Polaris/Leap, check the item out to a different account such as a staff card. 
3. When checking the item out, Polaris will display a warning that the item is on hold for a different patron. That's ok, select Continue to override the block
   
   
   
   
4. Polaris will then ask to reactivate the hold request for this patron. Click YES.
   
   This checks the item out to the new account and puts the patron's hold back in the hold queue, giving you another opportunity to check the item in again without trapping the hold.
   
   
5. Check the item back in. Polaris will attempt to re-fill the hold.  
6. When Polaris asks to trap the hold, Select No 
7. Polaris will once again ask to reactivate the hold for the patron. Select Yes.
8. The patron will be placed back into the hold queue in the position where they belong.
9. From the check in screen, modify the item's circulation status to "Damaged/Repair" or "Unavailable" based on your library's internal procedures.