What is the difference between an INSTITUTIONAL HOLD and an ITEM HOLD?

Institutional holds are holds placed on a title and are assigned automatically to the location that best meets the need. You will still need to select a specific item from the list, but when you view the holds there is no item number assigned to that hold request. On the other hand, an item hold is just the opposite – you are placing a hold on a specific item/item number and this item number will be displayed when you view your hold requests.