RICAT ILL: Patron-Initiated Requests

RICAT settings allow for students, faculty, or staff to place their own holds and ILL requests from within their own logins. If RICAT is not configured to allow this option, all holds and ILL requests must be placed by library staff on behalf of patrons (see Place ILL for Patron tab).

The document "Instructions for Patron-Initiated Holds" in the Related Documents box elsewhere on this page contains a pre-formatted handout you may feel free to distribute to your patrons. The handout instructs patrons how to place their own holds.

The document "Setting Up Your Site for Interlibrary Loan" in the Related Documents box includes a screen shot and reminder for the last bullet point below.

To enable patron-initiated holds, remember to:

• be sure the patron record has been added to Destiny© [Back Office top tab > Manage Patrons side tab > click New Patron button to add record]
• confirm the patron has been given a user ID and password [Back Office top tab > Manage Patrons side tab > use Find to pull up patron record > Edit > review/populate User Name and Password fields]
• ensure that the patron type has been granted self-empowered view and hold status [Back Office top tab > Access Levels side tab > click the Edit icon (paper and pencil) of the patron type you want to edit > click the Patrons sub-tab (look under the Cancel button) > check the following four boxes under Self-Empowered Patron Access: View own status, Place hold for self from Catalog, Place holds on available copies, and Place ILL for self from Catalog. All other settings are optional. ]

Report delivery issues (and order additional delivery bins) at this link on the OLIS website:

For questions about RICAT ILL procedures, please contact Zach Berger using the contact information elsewhere on this page, or contact any member of RILINK staff for assistance. Contact information is available in the RILINK Staff box on the About RILINK page.