[OPEN-ILS-DEV] Regarding open-ils.circ.title_hold.is_possible method

[Jason Etheridge]

> I know that the possible values for hold_type parameter are T, C (or R or
> F), I, V or M (Title, Copy, Issuance, Volume or Meta-record respectively). I
> have also successfully implemented this method. But I need exact logic
> behind determining Hold Type for  searched item.

Hi Bala,

The logic is human determined.  In most cases, staff and patrons go
for Title holds, because that offers up a wider pool of items
associated with the bib record that could potentially fulfill the
hold.  But sometimes the bib record is home to things that aren't
identical, and so you want to place a hold on a subset of the items
associated with the record.  For example, if the bib record is for an
Encyclopedia, and catalogers have encoded each volume of that
encyclopedia with a different call number, but all on the same record,
then you would need to place a specific Volume hold to get a
particular volume.  For serials (magazines, periodicals), the items
might not be encoded as items at all, but as issuances, and thus
you'll need to place an Issuance hold.  A Copy hold would grab you an
item with a specific known barcode.  Staff might want to do this for
various reasons; perhaps they want to repair or discard the book, or
add a security device or new labeling.  Meta-record holds are like
Title holds that work across several bib records at the same time.
There's a "fingerprint" that groups like records together.  So maybe a
patron wants a copy of Harry Potter, but doesn't care if it's
paperback, hardback, or large print.  A meta-record hold can
accomplish that.

I hope this helps.

-- Jason



-- 
Jason Etheridge
 | Equinox Software, Inc. / The Open Source Experts
 | phone:  1-877-OPEN-ILS (673-6457)
 | email:  jason at esilibrary.com
 | web:  http://www.esilibrary.com
 | Supporting Koha and Evergreen: http://koha-community.org &
http://evergreen-ils.org