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1.3. Age Hold Protection

Last Updated 03/17/2026

Keeping New Materials Home with Age Hold Protection

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Age Hold Protection allows libraries to restrict holds on newly activated items from other libraries until they have been active for six months. It relies on two features: the Active Date and the Age Hold Protection Rule. Age Hold Protection expires automatically after the designated time, although it can be removed earlier by unsetting the attribute in the Holdings Editor. 

Age Hold Protection enables libraries to block holds from being filled for patrons from other libraries until the item has been active for six months. It utilizes two features of the Item Attributes:

• Active Date
• Age Hold Protection Rule

How does Age Hold Protection Work

Age Hold Protection stops hold requests on newly activated items for pickup outside a library branch (3 month) or System (6 month).

Applying Age Hold Protection

When a newly purchased item is cataloged, regardless of its publication date, catalogers may add an Item Attribute of 6 month or 3 month Age Hold Protection:

Once the item is processed and checked in for the first time, an Active Date is set:

Active Date may be significantly different from Create Date because the Create Date is set automatically as soon as a library adds the holding, which may be on the date the item is ordered. For pre-ordered materials, or in the event of a shipping or cataloging backlog, the item may not be activated for several months.

Age Hold Protection will be in place from the date the item is first activated, until 3 or 6 months later. Active Dates may not be manually changed, so there is no way to adjust this time period.

What is 3 Month Age Hold Protection?

3 month age hold protect is both a shorter time frame, and a more limited scope. Items under 3 month Age Hold Protection cannot be targeted to fulfill holds outside the owning branch, even within the same system.

Once the 3 month time limit is up, libraries may switch to regular 6 month Age Hold Protection by selecting 6months from the drop down menu in the Holdings Editor for the item. This process can't be automated. 

Note: If 6 month Age Hold Protection is activated after an initial 3 month Age Hold Protection period, the start date for the 6 month countdown will still be the item's Active date. The newly added 6 month Age Hold Protection will end six months after the item's Active Date, regardless of when the 6 month delimiter was added.

FAQs

How can I remove Age Hold Protection?

Age Hold Protection will expire automatically 6 months after the item's Active Date. An autmated process will remove the attribute. In some cases, there may be a lag of 1-2 days between when the protection expires and when the attribute label is removed.

Of you need to remove protection earlier, you can do so by unsetting the attribute in the Holdings Editor.

Can I add Age Hold Protection to an item retroactively?

If circumstances cause renewed interest in a title that was added to your library's collection more than 6 months ago, you can't add Age Hold Protection again to keep the item home for your patrons. Adding the attribute will not impact the item's status for hold targeting if the Active Date is more than 6 months old.

Can I override Age Hold Protection when placing holds?

Users with Circulation Lead permissions may override an Age Hold Protection block at the time a hold request is placed. To do so, hit the override button to the ride of the blocking message in the hold request page:

However, this does not override the mechanism of Age Hold Protection. It allows the patron to enter the queue for the title, but their request will not be fulfilled until either their selected pickup library purchases a local copy of the title, or at least one copy attached to the bib record ages out of Age Hold Protection.