diff --git a/circ/circulation.pl b/circ/circulation.pl
index f44005593d..a354c1257d 100755
--- a/circ/circulation.pl
+++ b/circ/circulation.pl
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ my ( $template, $loggedinuser, $cookie ) = get_template_and_user (
     }
 );
 
-my $op                      = $query->param('op');
+my $op                      = $query->param('op') // '';
 my $override_high_holds     = $query->param('override_high_holds');
 my $override_high_holds_tmp = $query->param('override_high_holds_tmp');
 
diff --git a/circ/returns.pl b/circ/returns.pl
index 72e004a795..cb39bd4dfa 100755
--- a/circ/returns.pl
+++ b/circ/returns.pl
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ foreach ( $query->param ) {
     push( @inputloop, \%input );
 }
 
-my $op          = $query->param('op');
+my $op          = $query->param('op') // '';
 
 ############
 # Deal with the requests....