How to Order

Books & Media

Members of the Smith College community are welcome to submit suggestions for books, videos, DVDs, and sound recordings using our Book & Media Suggestion form. Faculty should use the Faculty Order Form.

Additional copy policy: Please note that we will order an additional copy of a title owned by (or on order at) another Five College library only when essential for supporting teaching, learning and research at Smith College. Faculty requests for books must indicate that a Smith copy is essential for supporting teaching, learning and research at Smith by using the following notation: SC copy essential.

Serials

The addition of new subscriptions is governed by our Serials Policy. Please contact your Library Liaison to discuss options.

eResources

The addition of new eResources (online databases, digitized primary source collections, aggregated eBook and eJournal collections, streaming video collections, etc.) is governed by our eResources Policy.  Please contact your Library Liaison to discuss options.

Continuations/Standing Orders

The addition of new continuations/standing orders is governed by our Continuations Policy.  Please contact your Library Liaison to discuss options.

Other Formats

Please consult with your Library Liaison to determine if the requested material can be accommodated in the Libraries.

Order Books Electronically via the Approval Plan

The Smith College Libraries use an “approval plan” to add new books to the libraries’ collections automatically, resulting in both efficiency and timeliness. In consultation with faculty, librarians work with our approval plan vendor to document which subject areas Smith collects in and at what level. Our collecting preferences are reflected in an “approval profile,” which is arranged by Library of Congress call number classification. For each granular call number area, the profile states whether the library wishes to receive books or notifications; subject areas that are not of interest are X’d out.

The current approval focuses on English-language works in the humanities and social sciences, bringing in titles that reflect the requirements of a four-year undergraduate library. Smith also participates in a four-college shared approval plan for university press titles. Shipments rotate among Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Smith still receives notifications for these titles; in addition, non-university press titles are shipped automatically to Smith on a weekly basis.

Faculty members who are interested in receiving electronic notifications of new titles on offer from the approval plan vendor should consult their library liaison. Once set up for these notifications, title notifications arrive via email on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis, depending on preference; titles of interest can be selected with the click of a mouse.

Some foreign-language vendors also offer similar programs; again, please check with your library liaison regarding this possibility.

Publishing Resources

Books in Print

AbeBooks - Out of print books source

Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory

Questions?

Please contact the Library Liaison for your Department, or Rose Reynolds, Head of Collection Development and Management, at rreynold@smith.edu, (413) 585-2984.