ALCTS Acquisitions Managers and Vendors Interest Group
July 12, 2009
Michael Levine-ClarkCollections Librarian, University of Denver
Kim AndersonChief Bibliographer, Blackwell
Developing a Patron-Driven Acquisition Service at
The University of Denver
Why Patron Driven?
• No dead ends for patrons seeking information• Adds a just-in-time element to Collection
Development• Reduces item cost per use• Integrates print and digital Collection
Development
University of Denver Data
• 1999-May 2008– 208,248 titles (21,921 a year)– 47.77% unused (99,480)
• FY 2008– Approx $1 million spent on monographs• 47.77% = $477,700
– 23,097 forms generated in FY 2008• 4,687 titles ordered from forms
The Universe of Titles
• 170,663 books published in the U.S. in 2008*• 53,869 books treated on approval by Blackwell
in FY 2008 (North America)
*Library and Book Trade Almanac 2009, p. 506 (preliminary data).
Demand-Driven Purchase
• E-Books• Humanities forms– No fiction, reprints, or textbooks– Discovery through the catalog– Dollar limits by patron type
• POD
The User Experience
• Discovery (OPAC)– Print and/or ebook(s)
• Request (OPAC)– Fast, seamless
• Ordering– Alternative Sources– Rush (or not?)
Profile Creation
• Develop a separate profile area for Patron- Driven activity
• Incorporate all existing forms subprofiles• Block fiction, textbooks, reprints, sets• Librarian selectors continue to receive their
existing electronic forms notifications• Approval book profile remains in place and
active
Record Workflow
• Patron Driven profile generates title matches• Blackwell creates a weekly file for FTP• DU loads the MaRC tagged records with
profiling metadata to their OPAC• Patron can discover titles ‘available to order’
and create a request for print or ebook
Order Workflow
• Patron identifies the title and creates a request for e-book or print book by clicking a ‘buy’ button
• Acquisitions reviews requests and sources the order with e-book vendor, Blackwell, or another print supplier
• Patron is notified of title availability
A New Approach to Pricing
• Annual subscription fee for record creation• Small transaction fee for each title ordered
Measuring Success with Patrons
• Did the patron find titles to request?– What was the ratio of requests to title records
loaded in the OPAC?• Did the patron find the request function
understandable and easy to use?• Was the title provided when the patron
needed it – What is “just in time?”
Measuring Success in the Library
• Did patrons create requests?• How did circulation of patron-requested titles
compare to other titles added in the same time period?
• How do patron-selected titles compare to librarian-selected titles?
• What was the impact on acquisitions workflow?
• Is this workflow scalable?