July 1: The beginning of the campus fiscal year.
For FY22 only:
November 1: Deadline for spending 50% of firm order funds.
January 15: Deadline for selectors to have spent firm order funds (-1 and -5 funds). No orders will be processed which have been received after this date.
No new resources may be purchased which require a new license agreement. If you have questions, please reach out to Jennifer Walker.
GOBI is the YBP database used by the Libraries to order books (both print and electronic). GOBI has many features available to help selectors with their books selections. The website address is www.gobi3.com. If you need a login or have forgotten your information, please contact Jennifer Walker.
Once in GOBI, you can select books and send them to the Acquisitions unit without having to send a separate email or fill out a separate form. You can also set up GOBI Alerts for faculty and yourself to receive email notifications of books matching predetermined criteria.
Provide as much information as possible to Acquisitions, especially if a distinct edition or format is required.
Generally, we prefer paperback to hardback, to save funds.
Generally, we do not duplicate titles already held, regardless of format.
GOBI is the most efficient method of ordering, if YBP provides the materials needed.
Select the record, place it in the select cart, add fund information, and select to move the order to Acquisitions.
See the select cart tutorial and other GOBI tutorials.
Records from a vendor or supplier are always the most helpful.
Some of the vendor databases listed below require a password, available from Jennifer Walker.
Amazon
AbeBooks
Casalini Libri (continental Europe)
Harrassowitz (continental Europe, musical scores)
Latin American Bookstore
Samuel French (plays)
Theodore Front (musical literature, scores)
If a vendor record is not available, full bibliographic information from WorldCat or some other source is helpful. Acquisitions will seek for a vendor.
We buy e-books on several platforms, most of which appear in GOBI, which indicates the prices for single/multiple user licenses and allows you to preview the book. To order an e-book that does not appear in GOBI, please send an email to the Acquisitions email. We do not order EBL e-books due to license issues.
You will need to specify if you want a single user or multiple user license. Some vendors will send us turn-away data, so you may upgrade to multiple users, if needed. Non-linear access is often used in public libraries and is in fact not a perpetual purchasing option, so we will not order non-linear access.
Note: e-books do require processing time, so are not instantaneously available. Establishing a license for a new platform takes some additional time.
We purchase videos either in DVD format or streaming. Vendors may require that we pay an institutional rate that may be much higher than the individual rate (i.e. we may have to pay more than a patron saw on Amazon). We do not purchase public performance rights, unless it is absolutely required. Some vendors will only sell to us if we purchase the public performance license.
While a public performance license is not required for use associated with a class or for individual viewing, a license or permission may be required for other group or public viewing. If in doubt, check with Jennifer Walker. Public performance rights are noted in the Library catalog record. A keyword search on "MU performance rights public" will retrieve videos with a public performance license.
To order a DVD, send an email to the Acquisitions email. Provide as much information as possible (e.g. subtitles required, specific edition, vendor information.) We typically purchase DVDs in Region 1 or no region format.
To order streaming video, contact Jennifer Walker. Streaming video requires a license, which can take more time. We have existing license agreements, allowing much quicker access, with:
Kanopy
Alexander Street Academic Video Online
Just Watch is a useful resource for identifying sources of streaming video.
Update on Kanopy, August 2018
Budget constraints prevent us from continuing our demand-driven acquisition program with Kanopy. We now license individual films upon request. Requests for films needed for classes should be sent to Rhonda Whithaus and will be funded from the Reserves fund. Requests for individual viewing, not required for a class, will be sent to the subject librarian for a decision and will be funded from firm order funds.
Note that Kanopy films are generally licensed for one calendar year from the date of purchase. In some cases we license films for three years.
Information on Kanopy films, including license expiration dates, is posted on Sharepoint.
Any magazine, journal, or newspaper routinely published and continuing in publication until permanently ceased is considered a serial. Initiating a new subscription requires identification of a funding source and approval by CSC of the continuing obligation. Potential sources of funding are cancelling other subscriptions of equivalent value, moving funds from a firm order fund, or very selective use of gift/endowment funds. Care should be taken in using gift funds since they don't consistently generate the same income from year to year.
To order a new serial, please first contact Erin (print subscriptions) or Libby (online subscriptions) for pricing information. Once you have decided you want to order a title, you will need to communicate the following information to Libby or Erin:
We use two subscription vendors, EBSCO and Harrassowitz, to manage our serial subscriptions. They do charge a small service charge (.5 - 3%) that will be added to the subscription price. We also go directly to publishers for many subscriptions.
If you wish to order an e-resource such as a database or online index, contact Corrie Hutchinson and Rhonda Whithaus. Corrie will work with the vendors to gather quotes, review pricing options, finalize the license, and launch the resource. Rhonda will set up trials (advisable before a major purchase!), gather user feedback, and can check on overlap between products.
Many factors need to be considered before purchase:
This form for evaluating electronic resources is helpful.
Instructors may request that we purchase materials to be placed on Reserve for their classes. This can be expedited if they use the Course Reserves Request Form to tell us what they need. This allows the materials to be tracked and prioritized through all processes from ordering until they arrive on the Reserve shelf. Note this is the same form that is used for placing materials we already own on Reserve.
There is a separate Reserve fund to enable quick ordering without contacting the subject specialist for approval.
In general, we do not purchase text books. We may encourage instructors to place personal or review copies of text books on Reserve.
For any sort of order not covered above, contact the Acquisitions department directly with your purchasing instructions.
When ordering please have the following information:
