Library Information for University Staff

Getting Resources into the Library

 Procedures for Ordering Library Materials

• All staff may recommend library materials for purchase; students can also make recommendations. 
• Recommendations should be guided by the Collection Management Plan .
• Send recommendations either to a Library Liaison Officer (LLO) or Subject Librarian.
• Library Liaison Officers are academic members of staff responsible for coordinating and sending recommendations from their departments to the Library. More information is available on the Role of Library Liaison Officers (pdf).
• Staff from departments who do not nominate LLOs should liaise directly with their Subject Librarian.
• A list of Subject Librarians is available. Contact your subject librarian or the Acquisitions Department for the name of your LLO.

New Books

• Every year, each department is allocated a proportion of the Library monograph budget. This money may be spent on books (print or electronic), audiovisual material, microtexts, or back issues of journals. 
• Final decisions on purchase are made by the Library.
• To recommend a book send its details to your LLO or your Subject Librarian. Alternatively use the online book recommendation form. 
• Check The Library Catalogue to see if the Library already has a copy of the book.
• Urgent or Rush Requests
  • Write on your request 'Rush to my-name and my-ID no.' or 'Rush to shelves for course name.'
  • Staff are not authorized to buy items for resale to the Library, or to charge book purchases to the Library. However, academic staff may select urgently required or second-hand books at local bookshops, and have them put aside for the Library, in consultation with the Subject Librarian.
• If you want to read the book when it becomes available for borrowing write 'Please reserve for my-name and my-ID no.'
• As soon as orders have been placed they will display on The Catalogue with a "copy ordered as of date" message. The average time between placing an order and receiving the book is around 7 weeks.

• See also Electronic Resources > Electronic Books.
• Selection Tools   To review possible purchases in a whole subject area you can:
  • Search online booksellers and other library catalogues in New Zealand and overseas.  
  • Search Te Puna (the New Zealand National Bibliographic Database).  This database has records for most English language books (and many others) published in the last 25 years and shows holdings at the UoA and other New Zealand libraries.
  • Contact a Subject Librarian if you would like information about finding and using these tools. Your Subject Librarian can also search library vendor databases.

New Videos and DVDs

• Commercially produced videos and DVDs must be ordered from legitimate suppliers and cannot be copied.
• Videos and DVDs are purchased from the same fund and in the same way as books. 
• Under the Screenrights License a video or DVD copy of a television broadcast can be added to the collection provided that the relevant conditions re labelling and access are met.

New Serials

• Every year, each faculty is allocated a proportion of Library money available for serials. 
• Send details of requested new serial subscriptions with a short justification to your Library Liaison Officer and Subject Librarian. 
• Subject Librarians will contact the Library Serials Department for information on prices and availability.
• Subscriptions to be funded by the Library require the approval of a Library account manager.
• Note: Back issues of journals can be purchased with money from the monograph fund but are often included in package deals for online access.
• Ulrichs is an international directory of serial publications. It is available electronically on the Library website.
• See also Electronic Resources > Electronic Journals.

New Databases (Indexing and Full-text)

• Send details of requested new subscriptions with a short justification to your Library Liaison Officer and Subject Librarian.  
• Subject Librarians will contact the Library Serials Department for information on prices and availability.
• Subscriptions to be funded by the Library require the approval of a Library account manager.
• Databases with a one-off purchase price and no on-going costs can be purchased from the same fund as books. If they are very expensive they may be candidates for strategic funding money (see below).
• See also Electronic Resources > Other Electronic Resources.

Prescribed Material & High-demand Material

• Students are encouraged to purchase prescribed texts.  However, teaching staff should ensure that the Library holds at least one copy of all prescribed and recommended course texts. 
• Prescribed and recommended course texts are available from the Kate Edger Information Commons Short Loan Collection (which caters for Arts, Business & Economics, and Science subjects) and in short loan collections in each of the divisional and campus libraries.
• There are online forms to request that material be placed in short loan. See Deadlines for requests.
• Contact your Subject Librarian for assistance in the selection and depositing of material in a Short Loan collection.
• For information on adding journal articles, book chapters, extracts, etc to the Short Loan Collection refer to the Electronic Course Materials Service information page

Theses from Other Universities

• Copies of theses from other universities which are likely to be in continuing demand may be purchased for the Library collection.  A request should be made to your Library Liaison Officer or Subject Librarian.

• If you want to purchase a personal copy of a thesis for your own private collection contact Inter-Library Loans. 

Material for New, or Amended, Courses and Programmes

• The Academic Programmes: Guidelines for the Preparation of Proposals and Amendments states: 
  "Faculties must consult with the University Librarian ... on all new academic developments prior to the submission of the proposal for approval in principle and all AP 01 proposals must be forwarded to the University Librarian one week before submission to the Regulations Office for Academic Programmes Sub-committee consideration."
• Contact your Subject Librarian well in advance of new proposals being submitted in order to assess the following:
  • current Library resources are adequate to support the programme, or
  • new Library resources required to support the programme can be obtained from funding currently available to the Library before the programme commences, or 
  • additional funding will be required to acquire Library resources to support the programme.
• Amended Courses  Proposals for major changes to existing programmes (e.g. moving to a new location, changes in the mode of delivery from campus-based to distance delivery) are also required to indicate if additional library resources are required.
• For acquisition of material in a new subject or research area, please contact your Subject Librarian. 

Strategic Funding

• Money is set aside each year to fund strategic initiatives.
• Strategic Funds are intended for large one-off purchases that cannot be managed within departmental collection allocations. 
• Subject Librarians in consultation with LLOs coordinate applications for each department.
• Staff members wishing to make an application should consult their Subject Librarian and their LLO if appropriate.

• Strategic Funding applications are considered and approved by the Senate Library Committee at its June meeting.

Standing Orders and Approval Plans

Standing orders

• Setting up a standing order for a book series assists in the monograph selection process and ensures all the volumes of important series are received as soon as they become available. Consult your Subject Librarian to review the current standing orders in your subject area or to set up a new standing order. 

Approval plans

• Another way of assisting the monograph selection process is to set up approval plans with library vendors, whereby books in particular subject areas are supplied directly to the Library according to profiles have been established.