Current Problematic Functionality: Physical item requests (holds) are placed at the title level (any item from any holding record attached to the bibliographic record will be used to fill the hold) when a holding record has no items with descriptions. Requests are placed at the item level (the exact item requested will be used to fill the hold) when a holding record has one or more items with a description. As a result, if a user places a request on an item attached to a holding record with no description, but there exists on the bibliographic record a second holding record with items with descriptions, the items with descriptions may be selected to fill the request. As a result a user may request a monograph, but receive a supplement to that monograph instead.

Example (https://search.library.ualberta.ca/permalink/01UOA_INST/doujli/alma991033437399709116
): See the attached screenshot for an example of this issue. In this example the user may place a title level request (hold) on the Cameron Science and Engineering Library item and receive the Research and Collections Resource Facility item with the description suppl.

Desired functionality: When a request (hold) is placed at the title level, only items from holding records without item descriptions are considered for filling the hold OR only items without descriptions are considered for filling the hold.

Rationale: The user should be able to confidently request an item and receive the item they've requested. Cataloguing practice requires the addition of descriptions to monographic items when the items are supplementary. This is standard practice for supplements, as described in Classification and Shelflisting Manual G 155 (sec. 2) (https://www.loc.gov/aba/publications/FreeCSM/G155.pdf). Because of the shift of materials between libraries, supplementary material may be split from base volumes, causing there to be holding records with items with descriptions, and holding records with items without descriptions.