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Acquisitions & Collections Services Department George A. Smathers Libraries
Selector Resources Overview

Endowments

PAYING FOR LIBRARY MATERIALS & RESOURCES WITH ENDOWMENT FUNDS

Two guiding principles apply to the process of purchasing library materials and resources with endowment funds:

  • Two administrators in George A. Smathers Libraries have signature authority over any acquisition of library resources with endowed funds:
    • Dean of Libraries
    • Associate Dean for Scholarly Resources
  • Acquisitions & Collections Services Department (ACS) is responsible for reporting all library resource purchases to UF Property Management 
  1. The process of acquiring library resources with endowment funds involves the fund curator, Branch or Department Chair, either Dean or Associate Dean, the fund liaison in ACS, and staff in the Accounting & Serials Unit (ASU) in ACS, typically the Accounting Manager. It is preferred that Unit Managers of Collections Support and E-Resources Units are included in the correspondence as appropriate.
    • The process begins with the curator determining funds are sufficient to cover the purchase; then 
    •  Proposing such a transaction and submitting the proposal through their branch/department chair to the Dean or Associate Dean for Scholarly Resources for approval
    • If the proposal is approved, approval notice is given to the curator and to Accounting Manager in ASU
    • ASU Manager:
      • Verifies the availability of funds from the Endowment Quarterly Reports and PeopleSoft
      • Checks the Alma line item budget for sufficient funding and increases the budgeted amount by the approved amount
      • Notifies all parties involved that funds are in place and ordering/invoicing/paying can proceed
    • Ordering staff in ACS places the order
  2. When resource is received and invoiced, both should be forwarded to ACS, not Business Services, for processing payment.

A final note: Workflows for acquiring library resources with any source of funds available to The Library should involve Acquisitions & Collections Services Department from the beginning to the end of the transaction because we are accountable to UF Property Management for such transactions.