Faculty Tasks

Faculty may ask the library to order books throughout the year, usually by going through their departmental book coordinator or by filling out the book order form(s) below.

You can use Primo to keep track of what has been ordered, if an item is in process, or not yet received. If you have any questions about new books arriving, you can contact your department's liaison librarian or Jessica Dickson (Acquisitions Specialist).

In order to assist faculty in making selections, the library subscribes to an academic book review service called CHOICE. Four times a year, the library's acquisitions specialist will email a list of book reviews to all departmental book coordinators, who should then distribute the reviews to the rest of the faculty (ask your department chair who fills that role in your program).

Instructions for Book Coordinators:

Watch for the regular email from Jessica Dickson for CHOICE lists throughout the academic year. Select books from the list that you would like the library to order on behalf of your department's faculty and students. Respond to the email or email library.orders@calvin.edu with your selections.

When making selections, it is helpful to the library if you:

• Clearly mark which titles you want to order
• Indicate if you prefer print over electronic format for any title (Hekman Library's current policy by default will prioritize purchasing titles as ebooks to make them more broadly accessible to in-person and online-only learners).
• Rate your selections by priority using the following scale:
  • 1 – essential book – will be ordered immediately
  • 2 – useful book – will be ordered as the budget allows
  • 3 – optional book – will be put on hold until the end of the fiscal year

While we call it "book ordering," faculty may order any non-serial items for the library, which includes DVDs, e-books, microfilm, etc. Book funds may not be used to purchase an item that has an annual or recurring cost like a journal. Refer to your liaison librarian for more info on journal ordering.

Students and guests may also use this form to suggest a title that we should consider purchasing. Use as many fields below as you can, and leave the rest blank. We are not always able to fulfill your request, but we value your recommendation. If you need access to the requested item, consider borrowing it through MeLCat or Inter-Library Loan.