Every fiscal year, each academic department will be budgeted a fixed amount to spend on additions to the library's collection, specifically print books, eBooks, or DVDs. Streaming videos may also be purchased but only if they are added to the collection through perpetual purchasing, not leased through the vendor as many streaming videos are. This budgeted amount will shift depending on the library's budget for a given fiscal year. Academic departments also have a separate budget for journal subscriptions, but this guide will focus on book acquisitions. The acquisitions budget will be spent on a first come, first served basis by department. If a department would like to arrange a different method of spending their budget, or if you have any questions about budgeting and journal acquisitions, please contact your liaison.
Instructors have the option to use Choice Reviews to help identify potential book purchases for their department. Some library liaisons use Choice Reviews to create and share digital “stacks” of book reviews focused on recently published titles relevant to your discipline. Each review includes an academic evaluation, a star rating (from Not Recommended to Highly Recommended), and information about the intended audience to help you assess a book’s merit. Please see our guide for more information about setting up an account and using the site.
If your liaison uses Choice Reviews, you may receive an email from ChoiceReviews.org inviting you to view your department’s stack. You can also browse the Choice Reviews site directly to explore new publications and either:
If you would like your liaison to create a Choice Reviews stack for your department, please contact them directly to discuss options.
To help ensure timely orders and consistent use of departmental acquisition funds, liaisons ask that instructors submit book selections by the 15th of each month. Please remember to check your spam folder for any emails from Choice Reviews.
Please note that instructors are not limited to selecting books from their monthly Choice Review cards! You may email your liaison with selections found outside of of ChoiceReviews.org, or you can send your liaison a list of books on Choice Reviews that are not included in your monthly book stack, which is narrowed to subjects related to your department.
Here are other websites that may be helpful in locating materials for your department or your faculty research: