Office of Finance and Administration

Travel Categories

Business Travel

For trips deemed business travel, the library will provide full financial support under the general travel policies and regulations of the university. The AUL determines when a trip is considered essential to conduct the business of the library, and therefore, eligible for business level funding support. Examples of business travel typically include:

  • Travel to represent the library at meetings of organizations of which Princeton University Library is a member, for instance, the NorthEast Research Libraries consortium (NERL), Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), or Ex Libris Users of North America (ELUNA)
  • Travel that members of the professional staff are asked by their supervisors to undertake, for example, for technical certification or to train for migration to new cataloging standards
  • Travel undertaken for the acquisition of books and other library materials
  • Travel b key curatorial and subject specialist, such as the Association for African Studies or the Association for Population/Family Planning Libraries and Information Centers. Note: The number of individuals approved for business funding in this circumstance is normally quite limited.

In addition to the above, recruiting and moving expenses are funded as business travel at the discretion of the Dean of the Faculty.

Professional Development Travel

Members of the professional library staff are encouraged to participate in professional associations and other activities from which the individual and the library will benefit. The library will provide partial financial support for participation that is related to the staff member’s professional responsibilities, according to the general travel policies and regulations of the university. Examples of professional development travel include:

  • Attendance at meetings of organizations where the traveler is presenting a paper
  • Attendance at meetings where the traveler is serving on a committee
  • Attendance at training programs which a manager has not specifically asked the traveler to attend
  • All other library related travel that is not considered either business or discretionary

Reimbursement

  • 100% transportation to and from event.
  • Non-refundable fares should be booked in the majority of cases. Change fees on non-refundable tickets are an allowable travel expense.
  • Travelers must purchase the lowest available economy class airfare that meets the needs of the business trip. Travelers may upgrade the level of service at personal expense or by using their “frequent flyer” points. There is no exception to this for the library.
  • Baggage fees will be paid for trips of more than 2 nights or if the traveler must take equipment or other presentation materials.
  • 100% of reasonable ground transportation to and from home to the airport or train station and, at the destination, to and from the hotel. If the traveler drives a personal car to the airport or train station, mileage will be covered from home at the current federal mileage reimbursement rate. Tolls and parking at the airport or train station will also be covered at 100%
  • 100% reasonable lodging
  • 100% of early bird, or lowest, registration fee for the event. The traveler will be responsible for any amount of a registration fee exceeding the lowest rate available to early registrant members of the sponsoring organization and will be required to reimburse the university for any such amount charged to a Princeton University credit card account.
  • 100% of cost of mobile broadband internet card through OIT
  • 100% of visa fees
  • No reimbursement for meals or for ground transportation during event (unless extenuating circumstances deem it necessary).

Discretionary Travel

The purpose of discretionary travel is to provide opportunities for professional library staff who report through the Dean of the Faculty to make trips outside the categories defined as business or professional development travel. Princeton University Library recognizes that these opportunities can be 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 organization, elective skill development, or exploration of new career directions. To be considered for funding, a discretionary trip 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, with the expectation that the individual will also contribute toward his or her own expenses.

Reimbursement

  • 50% transportation to and from event
  • 50% reasonable lodging
  • 50% of early bird, or lowest, registration fee for the event. The traveler will be responsible for any amount of a registration fee exceeding 50% of the lowest rate available to early registrant members of the sponsoring organization and will be required to reimburse the university for any such amount charged to a Princeton University credit card account.

Notes

*It is possible for a single trip to be approved as a combination of types of travel. The AUL/DUL will make that determination at the time of approval. For example, a trip to the ALA Annual Conference may include two days of designated business travel, followed by a day of professional development travel to participate on a committee, followed by another two days to attend programs that the AUL/DUL might consider discretionary travel. The resulting reimbursement rates will differ for the various segments of the trip. In such an instance, the traveler would be granted business travel level funding for the registration, air, accommodations, and meals for two days, plus additional funding at professional development and discretionary rates for the remaining days.

**Travel funds may not be used to subsidize individual membership dues in professional organizations.