What if you could be in charge of what books the library
buys? Many patrons would love to have
this power and libraries, particularly academic libraries, are beginning to put
in to place ways for their users to do this.
Traditionally, librarians have made the majority of
decisions about what resources to purchase for their institution based on a
variety of factors- how much money is budgeted for new books; what are the perceived
needs of the community; what will create a well-rounded and comprehensive
collection. This is often called “just-in-case”
acquisitions (Shen, 2011). The librarian
thinks that someone may need this resource in the near or long term and so they
purchase it. This results in a
collection where almost 40% of new books do not circulate (Fischer 2012).
Patron-driven acquisitions (PDA) is an attempt to address
the problems that arise at the root of making educated guesses about what
patrons will use at the very root of issue- the guessing. Some of the libraries budget would be set
aside for books or other resources bought only after a patron requests them. Up until about a decade ago, this meant that
a physical book would be ordered and the patron could check it out whenever it
arrived. However, with the rise of
digital books and journals, the form that most PDA takes has shifted to
immediately purchasing an e-book or journal article when a patron selects it
out of the catalog (Shen 2011). This is
both a shift in the process of acquiring materials for the library’s collection
and a change in the philosophy of the way acquisitions should happen. Instead
of an expert librarian picking out the books, patrons do.
There are a variety of forms PDA can take. The simplest is for a library to have a
policy that if a patron requests a book they do not have they will immediately order. The newest form, that academic libraries seem
very excited about, is PDA of e-books.
This system almost completely removes the librarian from the process
once parameters are in place. The
library sets up an agreement with a provider of academic e-books and possibly sets
up some guidelines about what titles will be offered, the maximum amount to be
spent on one book, subject matter restrictions or banning purchasing of
duplicates. The thousands of books available
for purchase are then imported to the library’s catalog and appear identically
to other electronic resources the institution owns. If a patron crosses a certain amount of use,
such as looking at ten or more pages of the book, the library is charged and
now owns an electronic copy of that text (Shen 2011).
There are several positive and negative things about this
approach to acquisitions, which this blog will explore more deeply in later
posts. This “just in time” approach
makes some librarians nervous about what kind of materials their collection
will end up acquiring. Will the
materials be of poor quality or not be applicable to anyone besides the person
who purchased it? Librarians are
concerned that by buying what is most popular at the moment they will not be
buying things of lasting value. This
approach also results in less of a sense of control over one’s budget. Publishers are also concerned that this on demand
buying pattern will result in less purchases by libraries (Anderson 2011).
However, proponents of PDA point out that materials bought
in this way are much more likely to be checked out again than materials that
librarians choose to purchase (Shen 2011).
Also, this often results in holes or weak spots in the collection being
filled. In academic libraries that
budget by subject area there are often areas that are overlooked or left out of
the budget process and PDA can help direct resources to those areas if there is
a need in the community for them (Fischer 2012).
This blog will go on to consider more deeply the possibilities
of PDA, pros and cons to the PDA approach to collection building in both academic
and public libraries, the publisher’s perspectives and where this technology
and approach is heading in the future.
As we move forward we invite you to consider and discuss these questions:
-Given this brief outline, what is your impression of PDA as
a way to acquire books for a library’s collection?
-Have you ever had a library buy a material specifically for
you? How did that work?
-How might the context of an academic library versus a
public library matter in acquiring materials in this way?
References
Anderson, R. (2011). What Patron-Driven Acquisition (PDA)
Does and Doesn’t Mean: An FAQ. The Scholarly Kitchen. Retrieved from http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2011/05/31/what-patron-driven-acquisition-pda-does-and-doesnt-mean-an-faq/
Fischer, K., Wright, M., Clatanoff, K., Barton, H., &
Shreeves, E. (2012). Give 'Em What They Want: A One-Year Study of Unmediated
Patron-Driven Acquisition of e-Books. College
& Research Libraries, 73(5), 469-492. Retrieved form http://proxy.lib.wayne.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ofs&AN=79814634&site=eds-live&scope=site
Shen, L., Cassidy, E., Elmore, E., Griffin, G., Manolovitz,
T., Martinez, M., & Turney, L. (2011). Head first into the patron-driven
acquisition pool: A comparison of librarian selections versus patron purchases.
Journal Of Electronic Resources
Librarianship, 23(3), 203-218. Retrieved from http://proxy.lib.wayne.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edselc&AN=edselc.2-52.0-80052995216&site=eds-live&scope=site
This is an interesting topic. I think the PDA would be more important in a public library than an academic library, as a public library serves the public. Personally, I think PDA is an important part of library acquisitions. After all, libraries need to have items patrons are going to want to check out and PDA can help with that. I have never had a library buy material for me but I have used ILL. I would think that would be something libraries would look into first before actually buying a requested item. That way they could use they book budget on requested items that may not be available through ILL.
ReplyDeleteThat's very interesting, Katy. As mentioned PDA has mostly been used and written about in the context of academic libraries. Public libraries can pretty easily pick out the best sellers and popular movie titles, but academic libraries may not know about student's and professor's research or they may miss books that are interdisciplinary. I wonder what other's thoughts are? How helpful would this approach to collections in different kinds of libraries?
ReplyDeleteI can see how PDA makes sense, being that the library should reflect the needs of the community. However, as the entry referenced, the issue comes in with new materials--materials that are trendy at the moment, but then fall to disuse. In an academic library, the issue could be raised as well but perhaps not the same degree as would take place in a public one. My experience in this area is nonexistent, as I have never had a library purhcase an item for me; I've merely made use of ILL instead.
ReplyDeleteThanks, John. You articulated some of the difference between public and academic libraries using PDA very well. Trends in academia come and go, but certainly not as quickly as popular reading.
ReplyDeletePDA definitely can be a different and tight line to walk, especially for public libraries whose budgets are shrinking. Like John said above, do the libraries invest in a technology or materials that are the trend of the moment or do they stay with the tried and true? The two public libraries that are closest to where I live have made a commitment to e-readers and e-books because of their patron's demands. E-readers are hot, and I personally love them, but I could see e-readers as being a fade. What then do these two libraries do? Hard decisions all around when dealing with PDA.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if a library could require a certain number of requests before purchasing an item, especially if it seems "trendy". I don't know how they'd decide how many requests though.
ReplyDeleteI can see how it would be really useful in academic libraries - a professor would know what materials they needed and would be able to help the library flesh out their collection.
I think patron driven acquisitions serve a good purpose in providing patrons with access to specific materials that they want. If 40% of new materials are not being circulated, a large part of the budget is being spent on materials that are of no interest to patrons. On one of my library visits (to an academic library), the librarian brought up the issue of meeting perceived needs versus real needs. Knowing what materials to provide does seem to be a tricky task. It seems patron driven acquisitions can be beneficial if the library is able to tailor the sales trigger points and other details specifically around their needs and budget allowances. I have never had a library purchase material for me, but do use ILL frequently.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, I did read about some set ups where there were a certain number of requests that had to happen before a book, article or ebook would be purchased. Sometimes it was somewhere between 5 and 10. I would guess the number would depend on the size of the library and the number of patrons they have and what their budget looks like.
ReplyDelete