EXTERNAL FUNDING FOR LIBRARY MATERIALS
Revised February 27, 2003
The following guidelines identify some of the issues involved in collaborating with academic departments for the purchase of library materials and provides a summary of existing policies.
- Policy Decisions
- Materials received and processed by the Libraries under these agreements become the property of the Libraries.
- External funds are used for the purchase of one-time materials including books, individual serial issues or backfiles, videos, etc. Subscriptions are not placed unless the amount of money received is significant and ongoing. Requests to pay for subscriptions on external funds should be reviewed with the Assistant Director for Technical Services and Collections. Involving the Assistant Director before the funds are solicited or the grant application made will help prevent problems down the road.
- The Libraries do not accept gift subscriptions purchased by the individual and donated to the library. Subscriptions for the Libraries are always purchased at the institutional rate.
- The preferred way of receiving funds from external units is via transfer of the expense from a library account to the department's account. This method allows the Libraries to use the standard acquisitions process via Technical Services for acquiring, claiming, receipt and invoicing of titles. Other methods can be explored when necessary.
- Kinds of Money
- General funds -- held by each department on campus in an account usually bearing the fund 011000
- Expenses from library accounts can be transferred to the department's chartfield on a one-time basis.
- Within the OSCAR system, these transfers of expenses are documented by adding a credit line on the OSCAR(Felix) record through the invoicing process.
- The Library can initiate the transfer of the expense using the GL system or the transfer can be initiated by the department. In the latter case, the transfer will appear in the GL workflow in ASA and must be approved by ASA before it is reflected on the GL.
- Research Foundation funds -- grants awarded to the University through the Research Foundation
- The principal investigator for a grant must set aside a portion of the grant for the purchase of library materials if this money is to be used by the Libraries.
- ASA has full documentation available for arranging for the transfer of expense on these funds. Contact the Head, ASA, for details.
- Each grant is maintained in a separate fund in the OSCAR system. A single grant can be divided into several funds handled by different collection managers if desired.
- Because of the terms set by the Research Foundation, grant funds must be expended by a particular date (not simply encumbered).
- Endowments -- endowment income received by academic departments
- Funds from endowments "owned" by academic departments cannot usually be transferred to the Libraries for purchasing purposes. However, the expenses can be transferred from the Libraries chartfield to the endowment.
- Within the OSCAR system, these transfers of expenses are documented by adding a credit line on the OSCAR(Felix) record through the invoicing process.
- The Library can initiate the transfer of the expense using the GL system or the transfer can be initiated by the department. In the latter case, the transfer will appear in the GL workflow in ASA and must be approved by ASA before it is reflected on the GL.
- Donations -- donations of money made from outside the University
- All monetary donations must be submitted to the Friends of the Libraries.
- Funds designated for the purchase of library materials will be reported to the ASA by the Friends Office once the money is available for expenditure.
- Funds are then deposited in the OSCAR system for ordering.
- Collection Manager Responsibilities
- Notify the Assistant Director for Technical Services and Collections when funds are to be solicited and when they are approved.
- Information needed:
- Person who approved the funding or the principal investigator on the grant
- Academic department contact who can assist with the business arrangements usually an office administrator or budget officer.
- Copy of the paperwork or email associated with the authorization.
- Deadline or terms of the funding, i.e. deadlines for expenditure, material to be purchased etc.
- Information on any reports required for titles purchased.
- Discuss arrangement with Assistant Director for Technical Services and Collections to determine how funds will be handled in OSCAR and any reports which will be needed at the end of the project to reflect items purchased.
- Notify the academic department that ASA will contact them and initiate the appropriate transfer in the GL. Since ASA has experience with this process, it is generally more efficient for ASA to prepare and initiate the transfer for the academic department's signature.
- Role of Technical Services
- Work with the academic department to make the funds available for ordering and expenditure.
- Work with the collection manager to get the money spent on schedule.
- Maintain the usual OSCAR accounts and provide reports.
Return to Collection Management Resources menu.
Return to Documentation menu.
BACK TO TOP