Cancel a hold

Cancel a hold from the staff side or the patron side.

Staff side

Holds → find the hold → click "Cancel".

Patron side

Portal → My holds → click "Cancel".

Or from a catalogue card: hover the "Hold placed" pill to reveal "Cancel hold".

What happens after

• The hold is removed from the queue
• If it was "Ready", the book becomes available for the next person
• If the patron was waiting, the queue shifts up
• The patron receives a cancellation confirmation email (optional, configurable)

Cancel by mistake

The cancel is permanent. To restore the hold, place it again — the patron will be at the back of any existing queue.

Cancelling many at once

Holds → select multiple → "Cancel selected". Useful for archiving stale holds when a book is being permanently removed.

When a librarian should cancel

Common cases:

• Patron called to ask
• Patron has been waiting for a hold on a book that's been lost (Shelfwise auto-handles this in newer versions)
• A patron's account is being deactivated (you cancel their pending holds first)