FAQ

How do I know how much money I have left?

There are three main ways of finding out how much money you have left to purchase with, as well as how much you have spent:

  1. The first and easiest option is to look at your Alma fund reports. These reports include a summary of total expenditures, encumbrances, and available balances at the top of the report, followed by a list of titles ordered and/or active on each fund this current fiscal year.
  2. Another option is to look at the funds themselves from within Alma. See the online Alma fund manager training for more information.

How do I view my fund reports?

If you want to see what books you’ve ordered or how much money you’ve spent, you can look at your fund reports.

See the Alma fund reports documentation for more information on how to access and understand the data in the fund reports.

What’s the difference between blanket, approval, and firm orders?

Blanket orders are usually international orders. Acquisitions helps subject specialists set up profiles with vendors. These profiles describe what sort of materials a bibliographer wants to buy. (These specifications can be based off of subject, call number ranges, language, etc.) With these profiles in hand, the vendors send the library materials which meet these specifications.

Approval orders can be international or domestic orders. The library primarily uses YBP Gobi3 for domestic approval orders. For approval orders, acquisitions helps subject specialists set up profiles with the vendor. Working off these profiles, the vendor recommends materials for purchase. The subject specialist can then choose from the list of recommended materials.

Firm orders are for books that we cannot get via blanket orders or approval orders. If a subject specialist finds a important, interesting, pertinent book (journal, film, etc.), they can send in a firm order for that book.

How do I order with Gobi3?

You can use Gobi3 for approval orders and for firm orders.

Approval Orders

On Gobi3, approval orders are called slip orders. Gobi3 recommends books based on profiles that the library gives them. To order off of approval funds, you need to find the slip recommendations.

At the top of the webpage, there are several dark blue tabs. One of these tabs is labeled “Search.” When you click that tab, a drop down menu appears. Select “Slip.”

From there, you will be brought to a search form. The most important parameters to include in your search are the date range and your fund code. Once you search, a list of recommended titles will appear.

When you have decided you want a certain book, click to the left of the record and the record will be highlighted (it is a dark blue). Then, click “Add to Select Cart” – which you can find at the top of the page. Continue to put books into the select cart until you are ready to complete your order.

When you are ready to order a list of titles, go to “Select Cart,” which can be found at the top right hand corner. When you’re in the select cart, highlight your titles. Then, “Enter Order Details.” (You can enter your order details, either using a template or by manually entering the details.) Your titles should have green traffic lights next to them once the order details are added. Then, you can click “Select Green Lights.” And voila, your books are ordered.

Firm Orders

You can create firm orders on Gobi3 for books that YBP sells but that do not appear in your recommendation for your slip/approval orders.

For firm orders, you can search by title or ISBN with the search bar on the homepage of Gobi3.

When you have decided you want a certain book, click to the left of the record and the record will be highlighted (it is a dark blue). Then, click “Add to Select Cart” – which you can find at the top of the page. Continue to put books into the select cart until you are ready to complete your order.

When you are ready to order a list of titles, go to “Select Cart,” which can be found at the top right hand corner. When you’re in the select cart, highlight your titles. Then, “Enter Order Details.” (You can enter your order details, either using a template or by manually entering the details.) Your titles should have green traffic lights next to them once the order details are added. Then, you can click “Select Green Lights.” And voila, your books are ordered.

How do I place a firm order?

If you can’t find the book you want on Gobi3, you can use our firm order form. Make sure to fill in as much information, including a vendor, as you can so we can find you the correct book.

How do I place an order for a serial?

Use our serials order form. Remember to put as much information as you can into the form so we can order the correct serial.

How do I cancel a serial?

If you want to cancel a serial, use our serial cancelation form. Remember to include as much information as possible so that we cancel the correct title.

A book I ordered hasn’t come in. How can I find out about its status?

Email acq@library.illinois.edu to ask about the status of any book order.

What do these fund codes mean?

The How do I find out what all those fund codes stand for page has detailed information on how to interpret fund codes in Alma.

How do I know if the library has already ordered something?

There are a few ways to find out if the library has ordered something:

Check the Online Catalog (Primo)

The easiest way to determine if the library has ordered something is to search for the item in the online public access catalog. If the item appears and does not prompt you to request its purchase, the library has the item – or the item is on order.

Check Alma

Information on how to search for orders is available in the online Alma fund manager training documentation.

Gobi3 Status

If you are searching titles in Gobi3, you can see whether or not the library has the title or has ordered the title. (Note: This is not always 100% accurate. Sometimes, a title that we have ordered elsewhere will not indicate such on Gobi3. It’s always good to double check.) On the right hand side of the record, Gobi3 will alert you if the title has been “Exported” (meaning that the title has been selected for purchase by a subject specialist) or if the title has been “Shipped” (either the library has it or the library will soon have it).

How do I know by when I need to spend my money? For approval orders? For firm orders?

Please see the Important Acquisitions Dates page for the relevant dates for the current fiscal year.