NBL Librarian Toolkit

The Outlook group for NBL & SCUA Faculty and the one for NBL Selector are our primary communication fora.  Beginning in March 2021 the NBL Selectors group also serves as an archive of weekly reports on NBL funds.  Jim Niessen and Laura Palumbo are NBL reps on RUL's Collections Strategies Task Force and Jim, Laura, and Triveni Kuchi constitute the allocations committee for humanities, sciences, and social sciences respectively.

You should also be members of the RUL Selectors+ (selectors@sakai.rutgers.edu) and NBL Selectors (nblselectors@sakai.rutgers) groups, but it has been used less in recent years. Both sites offer archives of messages and documents going back many years, but the future of sakai at Rutgers is uncertain. 

RUL's LibAnswers Training Manual has a list of user-facing and internal queues.  The internal queues for Acquisitions and Cataloging are especially useful for us.

RUL Collection Development Policy (2014)

• Trial Evaluation Policy
  • Outlines the policy for requesting trials and procedure for making them accessible to users

Approval Requirements for Collections Purchases and Cancellations

• All new subscriptions and subscription cancellations regardless of fund source require approval from the AVP for Scholarly Communications and Collections
• All local purchases in excess of $1,000 require Director approval
• All purchases in excess of $5,000 require approval from the University Librarian
• The renewal of any resources where the increase in cost is $5,000 or higher also require approval from the University Librarian

Print Retention and Withdrawal Guidelines [PDF] [March 12, 2019]

Gift Policies

• Public Policy on Gifts of Materials to the Libraries [Drop-Off Book Donation Policy, May 29, 2009]
• Guidelines for the Acquisition of Gift Collections [March 2006, revised 2011]
• Review Form For Potential New Collections (Gift or Purchased) [MSWord]
• NBL Gift Cataloging Priorities [approved 2019]

The Holdings Report Request Form should be used for withdrawals of 25 or more items and transfers of physical materials as well as collections analysis reports by the Holdings Management Unit. Email the Cataloging queue for fewer than 25 items. In your email, include the instructions such as please withdraw the following item(s) and include the Title, MMS ID or barcodes.

If you have access to Alma Analytics, see the "Alma Analytics for Selector Work" handout for help assembling reports on usage data in specific subject ranges. 

Use the Electronic Resources Usage Request Form to request database, e-journal, e-book, or streaming media usage. All requests submitted via this form will be automatically routed to the Acquisitions queue for action.

Orders, encumbrances, expenditures, and circulations can be monitored on Alma. Be aware that there is always some delay between your order request, placing of the order and encumbrance by acquisitions, and invoicing, expenditure, and processing after we receive the material. Alma reports can tell you the status of individual orders and of entire funds. The collection search on Alma's opening page links to checkout stats for physical items.

See Instructions for Producing Fund Reports in Alma and Requesting a Canned Report in Alma.

Analytics Tips for Selector Work and Fun by Francesca Giannetti

Selectors are encouraged to keep records of their orders on MS Excel.

• One time purchase: selectors who have fund codes available may request items for purchase to support their subject areas will usually use their Alma account with their personal login. Use the Market tab on the left to use Rialto. See "Rialto Tips and Tricks" handout by Bret McCandless for assistance.
• For foreign language, non-monographic, and other materials unavailable in Rialto, use one of these forms:
  • Monograph Form: used for print books and selected e-pubs.
  • Media Form: used for film and digitization requests. This form is also used by the Reserves staff to request purchases for course material, so there is a section referencing instructors and course info.
• Central Funds requests: Use this form for recommendations of larger-ticket one time items and continuing resources.  The spreadsheet generated by these requests will provide the basis for our desiderata list.  Be sure to get a price quote using the Acquisitions queue.
• Database Trials: Trial access to a database may be requested when you have a funding source; see the Trial Evaluation Policy.  Use this form to request a trial.
• You may enter faculty requests of books (not for course reserves) when your fund codes are exhausted or unavailable on the Purchase Recommendation Form.  Please refrain from distributing this link outside the library, lest the fund be exhausted by the time the selectors' spending target date has passed. This form is for all format types.
• To replace a book that is displaying as lost in QuickSearch, you may use the fund RUL Replacements in Rialto, the Monograph Form, or an email to the Acquisitions queue.   This is the counterpart to the former RPMX fund.
• If it's a course reserve request please point teaching faculty to the Course Reserve Form. This form is also for all format types. By filling out this form the Reserves staff is able to set up the course for the instructor and Reserves will place an order with acquisitions if there are any items that we don’t own and need to purchase.
• Information about RUL acquisitions procedures is here.  Order related questions for the acquisitions unit should be routed to the acquisitions queue. You can find more information about existing queues here.