Some of the deadlines for purchasing materials are two weeks earlier this year due to system upgrades. If you have requests for materials for your research or instruction, especially if you materials may come from international vendors, please be aware of these important dates:
- March 1, 2023 - Last day to request materials from international vendors
- March 31, 2023 - Last day to request all non-urgent materials
- May 9, 2023 - Last day to request urgent materials such as course materials for summer term
Please review our Frequently Asked Questions. If you have further questions, needs or concerns, please contact your subject specialist or libraries@colorado.edu.
Why have the deadlines changed this year?
What if I really need a book between April and July?
When you start ordering again, how long will it take before the book I need arrives?
Why didn’t I hear about this sooner?
Faculty do their research in the summer, how am I supposed to do my research now?
Will there be time in July to get the materials I need before classes start in August?
Why have the deadlines changed this year?
The deadline for urgent and course materials remains the same as in previous years. Additional deadlines are moving up by approximately two weeks in order to accommodate a system migration within the University Libraries. The University Libraries is upgrading our technology infrastructure and this project affects our accounting systems and the systems we use to purchase materials. Because of this change we are moving up certain deadlines for purchasing to ensure that we have enough time to order materials and pay invoices before the switch to the new technology.
What if I really need a book between April and July?
You may submit requests for purchase up until May 9 for any urgent materials. If you need materials between May 9 - July 1, please talk to your subject specialist. You can also request books through ILL or Prospector to cover some of the time between April and July.
When you start ordering again, how long will it take before the book I need arrives?
Please tell us what book you need as soon as you know. We will keep a list of your requests and we will order them as soon as possible after the new fiscal year begins.
If you need a book by a certain date, please inform us of that schedule. We work with a variety of vendors to try to accommodate these needs. If a book is readily available, we can obtain a book as quickly as within 5 - 7 business days. If a book is not needed by a certain date, we work with vendors who provide additional services to us such as preparing the copy for library use and these may take 30 - 60 days. International, out-of-print, or difficult to locate items may have varying timelines that may not support a specific need date. You can continue to tell us which books you will need all through the summer and we will keep a list to order as soon as possible after the fiscal year begins.
Why didn’t I hear about this sooner?
Our technology upgrade is a large project with many different aspects. We weren’t sure how this change would affect deadlines until now. If you are anticipating needing to purchase materials during May and June, we are happy to work with you now to strategize how we might be able to accommodate your needs during those months.
Faculty do their research in the summer, how am I supposed to do my research now?
We can still accommodate urgent purchase requests up until May 9, as in previous years. Please talk to your subject specialist about your research needs. You can also request materials through ILL or Prospector.
Will there be time in July to get the materials I need before classes start in August?
Please tell us what book you need as soon as you know. We can do leg work to investigate title availability and provide feedback if any titles may be challenging to obtain before classes start. We will keep a list of your requests and we will order them as soon as possible after the new fiscal year begins.