Collection Services, UCD Library: Ordering FAQ

You can request books any time during the year. 

Please be aware that books can take up to six weeks to arrive in the Library and ensure that you let the Library know in good time.

Requests made close to the start of semester will be processed as urgent but we cannot guarantee that they will be accessible to students in time.

You can order a book using the form on the Ordering Books page. You will need to be logged into your UCD Connect account to use the form.

Any reading lists entered into the Curriculum Management System as part of your module description will also be reviewed by the library. However, this process does take time as there are many modules to review. The book ordering form is much quicker and remains the best way of getting titles into the collections as soon as possible.

Due to budget restrictions, yes, there are limits on what can be ordered for a module.

Typically, only two copies of a book are ordered for a module and one copy of a book is ordered for research materials. This can be adjusted and to determine how many copies will be purchased for the Library, the Collection Development and Description Librarian (CDDL) for your School will also look at:

• the size of the module, 
• the type of book that is being requested,
• the cost of the book,
• and at the usage figures on similar books.

There is no set response to this question as there are a number of different aspects to consider when deciding how many copies of a book to purchase for reading list materials. These include:

• the number of students on the module, 
• the type of book that is being requested,
• the cost of the book,
• and at the usage figures on similar books.

Typically, one copy of a book is ordered for research materials.

If you feel enough copies have not been purchased, please contact you Collection Development and Description Librarian to discuss the order.

If the option is available and the price difference is reasonable, the Library will tend to prefer the ebook. 

Ebooks are available to the Library under single-user (1 concurrent user) and multi-user (3 concurrent users) licences. 

Under the terms of UCD's current agreement, ebooks, once purchased, are available to Library indefinitely. There are currently no plans to remove ebooks from the catalogue. 

If you have a preference for either print or electronic formats, please specify this in UCD Library's book request form. 

It can take up to six weeks for a book to arrive in the Library although most books will arrive much sooner.

Please give the Library as much time as possible to order and process books in advance of the next semester (or whenever you need it).

You can view the status of your book order on OneSearch or the catalogue by searching for your title. You can see an example in the image below.

Item Status and Explanation

Under Consideration: Your request has been entered into our Library Management System and will be reviewed by the Collection Development and Description Librarian (CDDL) for your School as soon as possible.

On Order: Your book has been ordered. At this stage you can see how many copies have been ordered and for what location. 

Cancelled: Your book request was cancelled. This is rare but can happen if a book is too expensive or if we have multiple copies in the Library already. Your CDDL will contact you in this instance to let you know the reason why a book was cancelled.

In Processing: Your book has arrived in the Library and is in the queue to be catalogued and processed by the Collection Services Unit. If you need the book quickly, you can contact your CDDL or place a query with any member of staff at the desk.

Check Shelves: The book is now available on the shelves. It can be borrowed.  

Library Use Only: The book is now available on the shelves. It cannot be borrowed and must be read in the Library only.

The Library processes too many books to notify you when each individual one has been received. This would also result in a lot of spam email for you!

You can view the status of your books on OneSearch or the catalogue at your convenience. We will contact you when a book has been cancelled or is unavailable.

Due to budget restrictions, UCD Library is not in a position to purchase additional subscription resources. Any changes to current subscriptions will be done in consultation with the Schools. If you have a journal that you would like to be considered should funding become available, please contact the CDDL for your School. 

If you would like to request an article, please use our Inter-Library Loan service.

Any reading lists entered into the Curriculum Management System will not be reviewed by library staff due to the high volume of reading lists and lack of necessary staff. The book ordering form remains the best way of getting titles into the collections as soon as possible.

You will need to log in to your UCD Connect account to use the book request form.

Username: Your email will be recorded automatically when you submit the form. 

1st Question: Module Code (mandatory)

Please indicate if your books are for research or if they will be used on a module. If they will be used on a module, please let us know the module code in the text box. Please enter only one module code in this text box. We can see the School and the number of students on that module if given this information.

Please submit one form for each module if you can.

If you are ordering one title or one set of books for a number of different modules, you can add the modules in with the book details or with the additional comments.

2nd Question: Book Details (mandatory)

Please enter the details of the books you need here. You can copy and paste in from your own Word, Excel, PDF documents, etc. Unfortunately, Google Forms does not accept attachments.

Additional module codes can be noted here if you wish.

3rd Question: Additional Comments (optional)

Please enter any additional comments here. You can note if a book is urgent, if you prefer ebook or print, preferred location, etc. 

Please try to submit one module code per form submission. 

You will be provided with a link to submit another request so you can submit another form quite easily.

If you have one or a number of titles that will be used across multiple modules, rather than submitting the same titles multiple times, you can add the additional module codes into the text boxes if you wish.

The book request form submits directly to the Collection Services Unit and will be processed by the staff there.

The module code allows the Library to associate books on the library system with your module and to make decisions about those books based on the level of the module, the number of students on that module, etc. This makes for better, evidence-based decisions by the Library and enables us to better support your teaching needs. 

We can also calculate how many codes we receive from a School to see how many modules we are catering for and how well we are meeting the needs of the School's modules overall.

To date, the Library does not have access to a full reading list management system so is not able to maintain open reading lists on behalf of staff or students.

The Library will make every effort not to send you a lot of emails.

You will be contacted when your orders have been entered onto our Library Management System. At this stage you can view their status on our catalogue and we will provide you with links directly to each title. If no issues arise, you should get no more emails from the Library and the book should arrive on the shelves in a few weeks.

We will contact you if a book has been cancelled or if it is unavailable. If we have any queries about your order, we will also email you. 

You can provide feedback on the book request form and the reading list application here.

The preferred browser for this application is Chrome but it has been tested on other browsers and can be used on Safari, Firefox, Opera, and IE, among others.

Issues have been encountered with Safari. If you are using Safari and the form does not display, try logging out of your UCD Connect account on the browser and logging back in again. If the problem persists, please use the Chrome browser.