Acquiring Materials

The Acquisitions Department is responsible for the acquisition of virtually all new material added to the UO Libraries, regardless of the branch or location. Acquisitions orders thousands of titles annually from around the globe. The acquisition of library materials requires:

ordering and receiving all monographic or one-time purchases purchases (i.e., videos, DVDs, maps, recordings, electronic or digital resources) ;
identifying vendors and suppliers who can deliver books and journals expeditiously;
ordering and paying invoices for all orders and renewals;
recording, monitoring, reporting, and maintaining fiscal records related to library funds;

Once ordered, materials may take anywhere from one to four months to arrive. Current trade or high-interest academic books, especially those published in the U.S., may arrive more quickly while books published outside the US generally take longer.

Acquisitions staff record ordered items in the Library's catalog. These titles are indicated as "on order" in the catalog until they are received. Once the item has been received, the status changes to "in process" until the item has been cataloged and is available on the shelf.

The University of Oregon's Business Affairs Office (BAO) provides oversight for the Library's acquisitions of materials: http://baowww.uoregon.edu/procurementcontracting.htm.

Maintained by: Acquisitions Staff
Last Modified: 01/16/2009