Purpose of the Library Collection

The Blough-Weis Library collection is intended to support the University curriculum through the purchase of high-quality resources in a wide variety of formats including books, periodicals, electronic databases, CDs, videos, maps, etc.

Ordering Guidelines

Susquehanna University faculty members have the primary responsibility for developing the library collection to support the curriculum. The librarians supplement this effort by purchasing reference materials, award-winning books, etc.

Each academic department is given an annual allocation for the purchase of books, videos, and other resources. The Library Director sends this information to each department head at the beginning of the academic year. Financial reports on the status of these allocations are sent monthly to the department heads and the deans.

These funds must be expended (i.e. items received and invoices paid) by June 30, the end of the fiscal year. To accomplish this, faculty members are asked to submit all requests prior to March 1. After March 1, any remaining funds are pooled and used to purchase orders on hand.

Faculty may request special allocations for one or two years to support new curricular initiatives or to strengthen the collection in areas needing special attention. To request a special allocation, contact Kathleen Gunning, Library Director, at x4320 or gunning@susqu.edu.

In addition to book reviews in your discipline's journals and other announcements of new publications, faculty may select items from the Choice review service. The Library's Acquisitions Assistant, Ann Marie Rompolski, sends Choice cards containing a citation plus book review per card to department heads on a monthly basis for distribution to the faculty. If a department head does not receive Choice cards for his/her department, contact Ann Marie at x4411 or rompolsk@susqu.edu.

The Library has also begun a subscription to the Choice Web site that allows faculty to access the Choice reviews online. Faculty who use this Web site will receive a monthly email notice of new reviews in appropriate subject areas that they can then access through the Internet. If you would like to use the Choice reviews online, you may obtain an authorization from the Library Director (gunning@susqu.edu or x4320).

Faculty may submit orders for purchase of books, CDs, scores and videos in the following ways:

		Fill out the electronic request form on the Library Web site,
		Write your name and the department or special allocation to which the order should be charged on the appropriate Choice review card, and send the card to Ann Marie Rompolski, Acquisitions Assistant,
		Submit a publisher's catalog or a printout from a Web site such as Amazon.com with the requested items clearly identified. Write your name and department or special allocation on the catalog or printout.
		Paste a citation from an electronic database or online vendor into an email message and send the email to Ann Marie at rompolsk@susqu.edu. Include the name of the department or special allocation to which the purchase should be charged.
		Fill out an order card, including your name and department or special allocation, and send the card to Ann Marie Rompolski, Acquisitions Assistant. To request a supply of blank order cards, email Ann Marie or pick some up at the Library.

Because of budget restrictions, requests for new periodical subscriptions require special consideration. Please contact Kathleen Gunning by phone (x4320) or email with such requests.

Bibliographic information for ordering books can be found in Books in Print and WorldCat. Both of these databases are available through First Search's drop down menus on their main page. Please include author, title, publisher (distributor for videos), publication date, ISBN (for books), and price.

Orders for materials needed for fall semester course reserves should be submitted by July 1, and for spring semester course reserves by November 30.

Students may also request that a book, video, etc. be purchased for the Library collection. If the requested item falls within the scope of the curriculum, it will be purchased as funds permit.

Sometimes we are notified by our vendor that certain books are out of print. We will be happy to pursue other avenues to secure your request, including contacting an out.of.print dealer, if you would like us to do so. When this occurs, the Acquisitions Assistant will contact you for further direction regarding pursuit of the request. Please contact the Acquisitions Assistant (ext. 4411) or a Librarian for ordering assistance at any time.

When an item you have requested is ordered, the online catalog system will send you an email message saying that the order has been placed.

Orders are typically placed within a week of the receipt of the request. However, orders may be delayed for several reasons:   During certain periods when many requests are received, such as the weeks prior to the March 1 deadline, more time will be required to process orders.   If a department has already submitted sufficient orders to expend its allocation, further orders from that department (except items for course reserves) will be held until funds are pooled on March 1.   If the Acquisitions Assistant has ordered the item, there will be a record in iLink with a system-generated call number beginning with XX rather than the usual call number for that type of item.   If the requested item has arrived and been cataloged, the record in iLink will have an appropriate call number: a Dewey call number for books, no call number for periodicals, etc. You will receive a notification with the call number of the item that you requested once it is ready for use.

If you have questions about the status of a requested item, please contact the Acquisitions Assistant, Anne Marie Rompolski, rompolsk@susqu.edu, or the Library Director, Kathleen Gunning, gunning@susqu.edu.