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How Books Are Selected and Acquired |
Each year the Library purchases between 5,000 and 6,000 books on the recommendation of faculty, librarians, and other members of the University community. In addition, an equal number of books are sent to the Library as Profiled Books. The Library also has an approval plan for Canadian imprints.
Profiled Books
The Library has an arrangement with YBP Library Services, a major book vendor, to have books sent to us based on subject profiles and publisher lists that have been developed by the Library staff with assistance from the faculty. The subject profiles reflect the types of materials needed to support the programs offered by the University and the publisher list includes all university presses located in the United States, Cambridge and Oxford University Presses, and approximately 150 scholarly, trade and professional presses. Profiled books are shipped to the Library each week. Those that pertain to the arts, humanities and social sciences are shelved for a few weeks on the first floor of the Library along the wall in the reserve reading area, before being transferred to the stacks. The science and technology profiled books are shelved in the Library's Science and Engineering Center on the 2nd floor. We encourage faculty to participate in the monitoring of the profiled books plan by reviewing the books on these shelves and providing feedback to us. Your participation will help insure that the Library will continue to receive high-quality books related to the curriculum and to campus research interests. Copies of the subject profiles and publisher lists are available on request.
Book Requests
Each year the Library allocates part of its materials budget to subject areas which correspond to the University's Academic Departments, Colleges and/or Schools. These funds are intended to be used to acquire materials that fall outside the approval and profiled books plans. All faculty are invited to submit requests for titles which will address curriculum and research-related needs. In general, these requests will be processed in the order in which they are received. However, requests for titles which we expect to receive as part of our profiled books plan are not processed immediately.
Textbooks
In general, the Library does not purchase course-required textbooks for the collection or for reserve. The Library does not have adequate funding to purchase both textbooks and other materials such as research monographs, trade titles, etc. in most subject areas. Textbooks are usually used for a short period of time only by those students enrolled in a course, and frequent textbook updates and revisions require regular costly replacements. The Library will place personal copies of textbooks on reserve at the owner's risk, or catalog and place on reserve donated copies.
Faculty may use our Book Recommendation Form or our request cards. Request cards are available from, and may be returned to, the Library's Acquisitions Department (581-1668).
Deborah Rollins | Revised:01/28/2008
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