DEFINITION
Published materials include, but are not limited to, books, periodicals, maps, charts, government documents, and journal reprints.
STANDARD PROCEDURES
Under most circumstances, departments use one of the following procedures to purchase published materials:
- Process a purchasing card to purchase publications if the cost of the order, including shipping charges and sales or compensatory tax charged by the vendor, does not exceed the single transaction limit assigned to the card. See 70.08.
- Process a Department Order (DO) to purchase publications if the cost of the order does not exceed $10,000, not including shipping and tax. See 70.07.
- Process a Departmental Requisition to purchase publications from outside vendors if the cost of the order exceeds $10,000. See 70.10.
SPECIAL PROCEDURES
When required, departments use the following special procedures for ordering publications:
Prepayment by Check Required
Certain professional organizations and governmental agencies do not accept purchasing card transactions and require that a check accompany each order.
The Controller's Office makes a prepayment if a vendor's order form or other documentation from a vendor is submitted with the Departmental Requisition. The submitted documentation should substantiate the following:
- Prepayment is required,
- Vendor's address, and
- Current price for the item requested.
An order form, an advertisement, a page from a current catalog, a letter, or a current price list may be used for documentation.
A department may not request prepayment simply to avoid postage or handling charges unless these charges exceed $50.00.
Subscriptions/Renewals/Memberships
If the publisher or association does not accept purchasing card transactions, process a Departmental Requisition to purchase a subscription, renewal, and/or professional membership.
Provide Purchasing Services with evidence of the current rate. Attach one of the following to the Departmental Requisition:
- Renewal notice,
- Invoice, or
- Copy of the newspaper/periodical masthead which shows the subscription rate and address.
Reprints and Page Charges
In most cases, the department requests galley proofs directly from the vendor using the vendor's order form. Usually galley proofs must be returned immediately.
If the publisher or association does not accept purchasing card transactions, the department may use a Department Order (see 70.07) to make a reprint purchase. Refer to the DO vendor copy sample in the PDF version of 70.26.3. Route the galley and the vendor's order form with the DO sent to the vendor.
If the cost exceeds $10,000, the department must use a Departmental Requisition. The galley may be returned with a copy of the vendor's order form indicating that the "Purchase Order to follow."
NOTE: See 70.10 for definitions of organization number (Org. No.) and Departmental Requisition number.
Include the following shipping and billing addresses on the vendor's order form which accompanies the galley proofs:
Shipping Address
The shipping address must include the following information:
- Washington State University; and
- Address of the campus central receiving department (see 70.14); and
- Department name; and
- Department Order number or the number of the purchase order issued for a Departmental Requisition, e.g., K123456; or
- If purchased with a purchasing card, include the name of the recipient, building, and room number. (See 70.08.)
The information assists the campus receiving department with recording the shipment as received in the the online Purchasing/ Accounts Payable/Receiving Application (PAPR). This expedites payment to the vendor. See 70.14.
NOTE: Do not use a departmental address or a home address as the shipping address.
Billing Address
Enter one of the following billing addresses on the vendor's order form:
Purchasing Card Purchase
Washington State University
(Dept. Name)
(Department Address, City, State, Zip)
DO / Dept. Req. Purchase
Washington State University
PO Box 641025
Pullman, WA 99164-1025
ATTN: (DO or Dept. Req. No.)
Completing the Order
Use a purchasing card (see 70.08), or complete a Department Order (see 70.07) or a Departmental Requisition (see 70.10).
Include the manuscript (ms. #) or article number assigned by the publisher (if there is one), the title of the manuscript, the author(s), journal title, projected publication date (if known), estimated number of pages, whether covers are required, and the number of reprints ordered.
If a certain number of reprints are provided at no charge in addition to those ordered, include this information in the purchasing card transaction notes in the online statement system, on the Department Order, or on the Departmental Requisition.
Include page charges (if appropriate) as a separate item on the order or requisition, indicating the estimated number of pages and amount charged per page.
If page charges and reprints are to be paid to separate vendors, prepare a separate purchasing card transaction, Department Order, or Departmental Requisition for each vendor.
Route a readable copy of the vendor's order form with the Department Order or the Departmental Requisition. If processing the order with a purchasing card, route a readable copy of the vendor's order form to the vendor with the purchasing card information.
LIBRARY MATERIALS
Departments are to consider using the University library system as an alternative for publications needed for brief reference.
Purchase
To recommend that the library add a publication to its permanent collection, submit a completed Library Purchase Request form. The form is available at the Library's Griffin website at:
Interlibrary Loan
Instead of recommending a library purchase, an individual may consider requesting the needed publication through an interlibrary loan. To request such a loan, go to: