Quick link to Travel Request Form
Travel Guidelines for Library Staff
In order for the Library to fulfill its mission and carry out its basic work, travel by members of the professional library staff is often essential. For the following categories of travel deemed essential, the Library will provide full financial support under the general travel policies and regulations of the University, which can be found here.
- Travel related to the Library's membership in organizations, consortia, and users' groups, such as RLG, the Northeast Research Libraries consortium, the Digital Library Federation, the Center for Research Libraries, Borrow Direct, the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, the Endeavor Users' Group and so forth.
- Travel for special training or updates that members of the professional staff are asked by their supervisors to undertake.
- Travel undertaken for the acquisition of books and other library materials.
- Travel to key curatorial and collectors' organizations (one fully-supported representative apiece).
- Attendance at meetings of organizations where the traveler is presenting a paper or serving on a committee.
- Recruiting and moving expenses.
- Making travel arrangements via the University's travel program
Step-by-Step Procedure for all travel
- Discuss trip with supervisor
- All travel requests, essential and discretionary, are submitted via the web Travel Request Form. Once submitted, the form is routed via email to employee's supervisor and then to the AUL. The employee will receive email updates on the status of his/her travel request as it is approved by the different department levels.
- The AUL determines whether the travel is essential. If he or she determines the travel is not essential, the request is forwarded to the discretionary travel committee for consideration for discretionary travel funding. Guidelines for discretionary travel are listed below.
- Upon approval by the AUL or Travel Committee, make your travel arrangements. (Your departmental secretary and the Financial Services Office can assist with this if needed)
- Take Trip - Keep all receipts and travel documentation required for reimbursement.
- Within 10 days of return, complete a employee travel voucher form attaching all original receipts. All receipts must show proof of payment.
- Submit signed voucher to your AUL for approval
- Forward approved voucher to the Financial Services office for processing
Discretionary travel
The purpose of discretionary travel is to provide opportunities for professional library staff, who report through the Office of the Dean of the Faculty, to make trips outside the categories defined as essential travel. The Princeton University Library recognizes that these opportunities are important for the development of individuals and for their contribution to the library. Discretionary travel includes but is not limited to attendance at conferences where one is not an active member of the association, elective skill development and enquiry into new directions. To be considered for funds, discretionary travel must have some relationship to the requestor's professional responsibilities and must be beneficial to the Library. Discretionary travel funds provide a nominal level of financial support for these activities with the expectation that the individual will also contribute toward their expenses.
They will also support fully funded travel awards for junior professional library staff to encourage and assist those in the lower salary ranges to become professionally active. These junior awards will only be available to those who are not currently professionally active and who have less than five years career experience.
Discretionary travel funds will not be used to subsidize membership dues for professional organizations for individual professional library staff members. The travel committee does not approve research leaves.
Any questions should be submitted to the Financial and Office Services Office.
