Services

The Acquisitions Department of the University Libraries is responsible for ordering library materials. The selection of materials at the UML Libraries is primarily performed by subject specialist librarians and UML faculty. The subject specialists act as liaisons to the academic departments and each department has identified a faculty member to act as liaison to the library. The University community is welcome to directly recommend an item for purchase by emailing the appropriate library liaison listed below.  

Books

To facilitate purchase, all requests must include the following information: Author, Title, ISBN number, Publisher and date of publication if known.

Requests for purchase must include the name and department of the person making the request. Requestors should also identify themselves as faculty, staff, graduate student, undergraduate or alumni. The library liaison will research and evaluate the request and forward them to the Acquisitions Department.

Checking Order Status 

The Library WorldCat Catalog provides easy tracking of book orders. Please note that books with the publication dates of the current year or next may not be available for immediate purchase. The status of such books will show in the catalog as “On Order” and may stay in this stage for several months.

Rush Orders

The Acquisitions Department will request rush orders for titles needed for Course Reserves but delivery time of any title is dictated by the availability from the publisher. The department will work to secure the timely delivery of all orders but cannot guarantee a specific delivery date.

To request a rush order simply note RUSH and list the course name and number and the semester for which the materials are needed along with your name and e-mail address or phone number.

Serials
Database subscriptions provide online access to over 65,000 unique journal titles in full-text as well as over 65,000 ebook titles. Databases can be accessed on campus or off campus. The library also maintains over 3,000 print journal titles on library shelves. These print holdings represent titles not available online.

The convenience and demand for online access coupled with the lack of adequate space encourages the library to increase online journal access to premier scholarly information and discourages the acquisition of print subscriptions.

Database Subscriptions

The library’s primary purpose of database subscriptions is to provide easy access, on and off campus to full-text academic, scholarly information that serves all of our users in the best possible format.

The library currently subscribes to approximately 300 different databases that provide access to premier scholarly information in journals, books and reference works. Decisions regarding the continuation or cancellation of subscriptions are based upon careful analysis of usage statistics. Trials or previews of any new database under consideration are announced to faculty with a request for feedback or recommendations. Faculty may suggest a database for trial or purchase but it is recommended that the Library obtain the trial to ensure it is available for all to review. It is the Libraries policy to subscribe to databases that are open to the UMass Lowell community and not limited to a particular department or college.