Changes to the Self-Serve Hold Shelf

Cooperative Computer Services (CCS), the library consortium Morton Grove is part of, recently decided to standardize the layout of hold slips on materials waiting to be picked up by patrons on hold shelves. This means there will be a few slight changes to the information on the hold slips at MGPL.

Currently, hold slips show the first seven letters of your last name and the last four digits of your phone number, along with the item number and last four digits of your library barcode. Starting February 17, the phone number digits will be removed and only the first four letters of your last name will be shown.

Here is information the new slips will include: 

• Pickup date
• Item number
• Last 4 digits of library card number
• First 4 letters of last name
• First letter of first name
• First letter of middle name

Here is what that looks like:

Why this change was made

There were two primary reasons why this change was made:

1. CCS wanted to set a standard at every library in the consortium so that the information on hold slips would be consistent for patrons if they picked up holds at multiple libraries.
2. CCS wanted to protect the privacy of patrons and the materials they had placed on hold, especially since most libraries now have self-serve hold shelves. Showing only the first four letters of your last name and the last four digits of your library barcode better protects your privacy while still allowing enough information to find your holds on the shelf.

To make sure you get the correct items, it might be helpful to commit the last four digits of your library barcode to memory.

We know this change may take some getting used to, so please don’t hesitate to ask for help at the Check Out Desk when locating your holds. We are also happy to answer any questions you have about this change.

Jeff Ray is the Circulation Services Manager at Morton Grove Public Library.