How to SMCL: Pause Holds

Written By: Daniela at North Fair Oaks Library

Has this ever happened to you? You're out of town or otherwise unavailable when you get the lovely notice: your hold is ready for pick up! Not to worry, there's a quick fix. Before you even leave the house or the book arrives, you can "pause" your hold on smcl.org. It makes it so your hold won't arrive, but once you "resume," it puts you back in the queue, without being booted to the end of the line.  

Follow the steps below and you can get right back to not worrying about losing your spot. No more being overloaded from having to pick up all your holds at once. Happy reading!  

Step 1 

Log into your smcl.org account by clicking the Log In button at the top right-hand corner.  

Step 2

Use your library card number as your “username” and the PIN number is the last 4 digits of your phone number by default. If it’s your first time, you will be prompted to set up the account. 

Step 3

Click on the white arrow in the blue Log In button on the top right corner. A menu will appear. If you have a book on hold, you'll find them under the On Hold tab. Click “On Hold.” 

Step 4

Find the book you have on hold. There should be two buttons, one to cancel your hold and the other to pause. Click the button that says, “Pause Hold.” Your hold is now paused. 

Step 5

The item should update like the picture below. Paused holds will have an indicator as shown. When you're available to pick up the hold again, you must return to your account and “resume” the hold. Your holds will not resume automatically. To resume the hold, click “Resume Hold.”