TEXTBOOK SERVICES POLICY FOR FACULTY & STAFF (Rev. 3-07)

I. Ordering Textbooks

 

A. Regular Orders

1. New textbooks for undergraduate students are ordered through Textbook Services on Textbook Services Form 1 (Rev. 4-91), a three part carbonless form available from Textbook Services. Each department secretary should have a supply on hand; please do not use older versions of the form. New textbooks may also be ordered using Textbook Services' online order form. Please place orders as far as possible in advance of the time the material is needed. A minimum of 4 weeks is needed for most orders, though this can vary significantly if any titles are out of stock at the publisher. Forms must be signed and dated by the faculty member initiating the order and by the department chair before they are sent to Textbook Services, 185 Davee Library. 

2. Textbooks for graduate students should be ordered through the Falcon Shop in the University Center. Textbook Services will rent texts to graduate students who are taking undergraduate and/or "slash" courses if all undergraduate requirements for the text have been met, and if the text is not available in the Falcon Shop. Textbook Services must have authorization from the instructor involved before texts may be rented by graduate students. Before providing authorization the instructor should establish that there are enough copies of the text available to meet the combined undergraduate and graduate need for the text. 

3. Under the rental system, a text is expected to be used for a minimum of two years once it has been adopted. Requests for early replacement will be given special consideration when they involve subject areas where information changes rapidly, or classes which will be taught by new faculty members. 

4. By paying a textbook rental fee, each undergraduate student is entitled to the primary text for each course. Supplemental texts will also be provided to the maximum extent possible, with special emphasis given to courses taught in "book intensive" areas, and in courses where source material is used. Depending on the needs of the instructor and the course, texts may also be ordered for Reserve reading (through the Reserve Desk, Library) at the recommended ratio of one copy for every 12 students, or ordered for students to purchase in the Falcon Shop. 

5. Timely placement of orders for new textbooks and timely notification of textbook changes can save substantial amounts of money. So please place orders for new texts as early as possible. Please let the Textbook Services Manager know of plans to change textbooks as soon as possible. 

6. Exceptions to Textbook Services' purchasing policy may be requested (in writing) through the respective College Deans. Approval is contingent on cost, availability of funds, justification, etc. The Vice Chancellor is the final authority on such requests. Please exercise care in the selection of textbooks as student money is the sole source of funding for textbook purchases.

 

B. Rush Orders

 

1. When textbook shortages develop, additional copies should be rush ordered as soon as the shortage is known. The time needed to fill rush orders varies, but texts usually arrive within a week. 

2. When textbook shortages develop, professors may request that Textbook Services place one copy of the text on Reserve, at the Reserve Desk in the Library, for use by students until additional copies of the text arrive. 

3. Rush orders to fill textbook shortages may be placed by the professor with the Textbook Services Manager over the phone or by email.

 

 

II. Textbook Issue

 

A. Textbook Issue Form Letters

 

1. Once each semester, approximately 8 weeks before the end of the semester, the Textbook Services Manager will send a form letter via email to each teaching faculty member. On it, each professor should list the texts they want distributed to their students at the beginning of the following semester (or summer session) and return it, using the "Reply" feature of their email program, to Textbook Services by the due date. Those who do not respond via email will receive a hard copy of the form through campus mail about 6 weeks before the end of the semester. These forms should also be completed and returned by the due date. If the professor does not require any texts to be issued, this should be indicated on the form letter, and it should be returned anyway. 

2. The email form and the color coded hard copy form letter (Yellow for Fall Semester, Green for Spring Semester and Blue for Summer Session) are not textbook orders, but concern any and all texts that need to be distributed to students in the class, i.e. existing texts which are already in stock and new textbooks which have been, or will be, ordered for the class. 

3. Please fill in the form letter and return it to Textbook Services promptly as the efficiency and accuracy of the textbook issue is dependent on this source. Or you may use the online textbook list form to let us know which texts you want Textbook Services to issue.

 

B.  Textbook Shortages

 

1. Each semester, as pre-registration for the subsequent semester is completed, the Textbook Services Manager will compare enrollment figures for each class against inventories of textbooks needed for the class. Additional copies of texts will be ordered where shortages are discovered and these copies should be available by the time textbook issue begins. 

2. As pre-registration enrollment figures do not include those late registrations and adds that take place after textbook issue has started, faculty members should coordinate adds with the Textbook Services Manager so that shortages can be avoided or dealt with promptly. 

3. As texts are issued at the beginning of each semester, one copy of each title will be held back for possible use on Reserve should a shortage develop. Faculty members should contact the Textbook Services Manager if they become aware of a shortage of textbooks for any of their classes. It can then be determined if it will be necessary to rush order more copies of the text, and it can be decided if the copy held back should be placed on Reserve at the Reserve Desk in the Library, or issued to a student.

 

III. Customized Class Materials

 

A. Requests For Customized Class Materials or Course Packs

 

1. Requests for production of customized packets, or course packs, for class use should be prepared & submitted to Textbook Services on Textbook Services Form 2. Instructions for preparation are on the back of the form. 

2. If copyright clearances are involved, and since material cannot legally be distributed until copyright clearances are received, please send orders for customized packets to Textbook Services well in advance of the date that the material will be needed for distribution. Please keep in mind that the larger the number of copyrighted items in the packet, the longer it will take to contact and get clearances from each of the copyright holders. About 3 months should be sufficient for most material, though the time needed can vary greatly. 

3. In general, smaller packets of one to twenty-five pages should not be ordered through Textbook Services. Smaller packets should continue to be distributed as class handouts by the professor or the department. 

B. Preparing Packets & Getting Copyright Clearances 

1. The professor must provide a good quality, legible copy of each item to be included in the course pack. 

2. The professor must provide the name and address of the copyright holder for each copyrighted item that is to be included in the packet, bibiliographic information pertaining to the source of the material, and the page number(s) as they appear in the source. 

3. Textbook Services, using information provided by the professor, will contact the copyright holder(s) and request permission to use the material. Textbook Services will pay all copyright clearance fees (within reason), and all copying costs. 

4. Once all copyright clearances have been obtained, the material is sent to Fast Copy. After it is copied it will be returned to Textbook Services and bound for distribution.

 

IV. Checking Out Textbooks & Obtaining Desk Copies From Publishers

 

A. Getting Desk Copies From Publishers

1. Requests for desk copies, sometimes called complimentary copies, should be sent or phoned to the publisher. 

2. Written requests should list author, title, edition, course name and number, academic department, and they should be sent under the University letterhead. 

3. Most publishers also accept phone requests for desk copies. Most publishers have toll free numbers that may be used for this purpose. Phoned requests should include author, title, edition, course name and number, academic department, and the name of the University. Textbook Services may be able to help in providing publishers' addresses and phone numbers.

 

B. Checking Out Textbooks To Faculty & Staff

1. Faculty and Staff members may check out textbooks for classes they are teaching if desk copies are not available from the publisher, or for use until their desk copies arrive. 

2. As the texts were purchased with student funds, texts checked out may not be considered complimentary copies and they must be returned as soon as a desk copy can be obtained from the publisher. 

3. When desk copies are not available, Faculty and Staff members may check out and use texts for classes they are teaching. They may keep them for as long as the texts are needed to teach the class. 

4. Beginning 4 weeks after the first day of classes each semester, Faculty and Staff members may check out texts for reference, i.e. texts for classes they are not teaching. Textbooks used in classes that are not taught during the current semester may be checked out for reference before the 4 week waiting period has elapsed. 

a. Check out for reference is subject to availability. If all copies of the text have been checked out to students enrolled in the class, no additional copies will be ordered. 
b. Textbooks checked out for reference are due before the class in which the textbooks are used is taught again.

5. Faculty and Staff are not charged fines for overdue materials, however, they must pay for damaged and lost texts. 

6. The Textbook Services Manager may deny or limit circulation of textbooks to Faculty and Staff who have long term overdues and/or unpaid financial obligations. The Textbook Services Manager may deny use of textbooks for reference in cases where circulation of texts to Faculty and Staff will cause a shortage of texts for students enrolled in the class.

 

V. Textbook Holdings & Inventory Control

A. Textbook Holdings

 

1. A book list, which lists all textbook holdings by department and by class is published each Spring Semester for distribution to each academic department. Textbook Services also maintains an online listing, which is updated once each semester.

2. If more information is needed, we welcome questions about our holdings at any time.

 

B. Inventory Control

1. When a textbook is to be discontinued or replaced, please notify the Textbook Services Manager as soon as possible. Timely placement of orders for new textbooks and timely notification of textbook changes can save substantial amounts of money. 

2. Once each year, during the Spring Semester, a list of textbooks is sent to each department so that teaching faculty and staff members may review textbooks owned by Textbook Services for use in their department. The list includes all texts for all classes taught by the department. The objective of this review is to identify titles that are obsolete, titles that have not been used in some time, titles where the number of copies in stock is substantially greater than the enrollment for the class, and titles that will be replaced before the class is taught again. Faculty/Staff cooperation in identifying titles in these categories is very much appreciated.

VI. Note To New Faculty Members

A. Renting vs. Buying

1. Textbook rental may be a new concept to new faculty members who may have taught in Universities where students purchase their texts.

2. Renting texts saves students a significant amount of money each semester, while still offering them the option to purchase their texts.

B. Building a Professional Library Under the Rental System

1. Our system of selling current texts at a discount during our Booksales each semester, and selling discontinued texts for minimal prices all through the semester, enables students to select titles they think will be of use to them in the future and to build a professional library at a very reasonable cost.

2. Please do not hesitate to recommend to your students any texts you think they should purchase.. We hope this website has answered some of your questions, but please feel free to stop in or phone if you have questions about the rental system.

VII. Miscellaneous

A. Student Policies

1. Information on student policies is also available on this web site. 

2. To prevent misinformation and violations of policy by students, it is requested that all their questions and problems pertaining to the system be referred to the Textbook Services Manager.

B. Questions

1. Your questions, suggestions, comments are always welcome. 

2. If you have questions, suggestions, comments, or if you need more information, please contact the Textbook Services Manager, 715 425-3106, or email virgil.w.monroe@uwrf.edu Thank you.