Follow a Hold

By Jenny Furner | Collection Services Assistant

Have you ever wondered how a book you put on hold gets to your ho me branch? Follow the odysseyof a copy of Kristin Hannah’s The Women from all the way across the county to your backyard.

Step one: You locate the book in KDL’s catalog and hit the “Place Hold” button.

Step two: A copy of The Women at the Alpine Twp. Branch gets assigned to you.

Step three: Ryllie, the Assistant Branch Librarian at Alpine, finds your copy of The Women on the shelf and pulls it just for you.

Step four: Ryllie checks the book into our system, which generates a printed receipt with your name and home branch. She places that receipt inside the book for later reference.

Step five: Your copy of The Women gets put in a tote bin that will get picked up by our delivery driver, James. He loads the bin in his van and drives it to the KDL Service Center.

Step six: Megan, a Collection Services Assistant at the Service Center, unpacks the bin James brought her and places each book, including your copy of The Women, on our automatic sorter. It takes a short ride on a conveyor belt and drops into a bin destined for the Gaines Twp. Branch.

Step seven: When the bin is full, Ben, another Collection Services Assistant, will close it up and put it on a flatbed to go back out in delivery. When James gets back to the Service Center next, he’ll load the bin going to Gaines in his van and drive it away.

Step eight: Alex, an Assistant Branch Librarian at Gaines, will unload the bin with your hold in it and scan it into our software. An email or text notification will be sent to you, letting you know your hold is available. Alex will put your book on the hold shelf, where it will wait for you to come get it and check it out at our self-checkout stations.