Request a Document (Staff)

The library has a limited collection of e-books. You should take the following steps before responding to book requests:

• Check the library to ensure we don't have the book in our collection.
• Check the student or faulty member's current course to ensure the book is not the textbook for the course.

You will first want to review the Course Content Report to determine if the book is used in a course. It is often simpler to download the file to search it.

If the book is not listed on the Course Content Report, you will need to check the student or faculty member's current course in Blackboard to determine if the book requested is the textbook for the course. Please refer to the Viewing Course Info in Blackboard guide for instructions on how to do this.

If the book requested is a textbook:

1. Apply the appropriate macro to your response and customize it as needed.
2. Add any additional, necessary tags to the ticket.
3. Edit the request and select Textbook in the Request Fulfilled By drop-down. Click Edit Question to save your selection.
4. Close the ticket by selecting Submit as Closed.

If we do not have the book and it is not a textbook from the student or faculty member's course, we must confirm that the student wants the book, as book loans and purchases take longer to fulfill than requests for other materials.

When responding to an initial request for a book:

1. Apply the appropriate macro to your response and customize it as needed.
2. Add any additional, necessary tags to the ticket.
3. Edit the request and select Cancelled in the Request Fulfilled By drop-down. Click Edit Question to save your selection.
4. Close the ticket by selecting Submit as Closed.

If the student responds and only wants a portion of the book (i.e., one chapter or 10% of the book, whichever is less), order the chapter or pages requested through Reprints Desk. See Ordering Documents from Reprints Desk for this process.

If the student wants the entire book:

1. Ensure that the student has provided all necessary information, including their:
   • address;
   • phone number;
   • advisor's name.
   Note: Faculty and staff must provide the same information, except an advisor's name.
2. If the student is missing any of this information, respond to them with a request for the missing information.
3. Once the student has responded with all the necessary information, follow the steps under Book Loans.

Book Purchases

If we can purchase the book for $50.00 or less, we usually buy the book on the student's behalf, as $50.00 is the minimum cost for book loans.

We only buy books from reputable websites (Amazon, Abe Books, etc.). If the site seems strange or sketchy, do not purchase the book from that site.

To purchase a book:

1. Once you have received the required information from the student, faculty, or staff member (address, phone number, and, for students, advisor's name), locate the item on a reputable website.
2. Review the condition of the book. Depending on the total cost, we may spend more money on an item to get a better book condition.
3. Reach out to the appropriate curriculum contact (i.e., the person with the P-card) and coordinate the book purchase. Provide them with the student's name, mailing address, phone number, and the library's cost code (10-00112-79-6142-0000).
4. Close the request in LibAnswers, letting the requestor know that the book will arrive in the mail and that they can keep the copy being sent to them.
5. After closing the request, go back into the ticket and enter the cost information for the book in the Total field (click the top gear icon to enter this, similar to editing other question fields for the ticket).

Book Loans

Book loans should be procured as a last resort option as book loans often take several weeks, if not longer, to fulfill, which isn't helpful for many of our students due to the quick pace of our courses. Book loans must be arranged through the University of Michigan, and borrowers must return the item within a specified time.

1. Once you have determined that a book loan is the only option for the material and the student has sent you the appropriate information, check to ensure the student does not have an outstanding book loan. As a reminder, students can only loan one (1) book at a time.
2. Email the University of Michigan book loan service at ulib-illborrow@umich.edu to request the loan.
3. In the email, provide the book the student wishes to load and their address.
4. You should also indicate that the maximum cost we will spend for the loan is $100.
5. Edit the request and change the selection in the Request Fulfilled By field to Book Loan Fulfilled/Book Purchased.
6. Select the correct macro to send to the student and choose Submit as Closed to send your response.
7. Once received from the University of Michigan, enter the cost information for the book in the Total field (click the top gear icon to enter this, similar to editing other question fields for the ticket).