Each School/College (and in the case of the College of Arts & Sciences, each Department) is given an allocation each year from which to place orders for monographs (books) or media (DVD, Video, CD, etc). Any faculty member may place an order for a book or media to be added to the library collection, but should check with the Liaison of their School/College/Department to determine if a procedure is in place for submitting its orders. Some Departments allocate their library budget allotment among their faculty members and closely track the spending.

Individuals may also place a book or media order request using the Cowles Library web order form, via e-mail, or by campus mail provided that the book meets with the previously stated selection criteria. Note that the preference for media material requested is the DVD format. VHS tapes are purchased only when the DVD version is unavailable.