How do I monitor my department's spending?

Answers

Your department's free balance is always displayed to you when you log in to the Web Order System. http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/bookorder/bookreq.php   You may lose any funds not encumbered by March 1 of the current fiscal year).  Please direct any questions regarding your department's free balance to the Collection Management Librarian, Robin Moskal, at 5-2341 or the Acquisitions Librarian, Michelle Flinchbaugh, at 5-6754.

The Acquisitions Librarian is responsible for monitoring all departmental book funds. When your money is gone, orders will be queued for ordering in the next fiscal year. You will want to have some money left for Spring orders, but again, you may lose any funds not encumbered by the ordering deadline (March 1, 2016). If you're saving money for something special you want to get after the deadline, you should let the Acquisitions Librarian  know so that your money won't be spent. Extensions are sometimes granted to allow departments to encumber all their funds, but the more time that passes from the ordering deadline, the more likely it becomes you will lose your funds.

Sometimes your free balance will be a negative number. We normally over-encumber funds by 10%, which allows for all of your money to be spent despite some items not coming in and being paid for in the current fiscal year.