PDA found in the Cornerstone

No, the library isn’t giving away Blackberries to readers of its Cornerstone newsletter. No, the latest Cornerstone doesn't have a picture of a couple getting intimate in the stacks. This PDA is Patron Driven Acquisition. Dean Carlson’s column describes two kinds of “patron-initiated on-demand acquisitions” that the library has for books.

PDA is different from a “suggest a purchase” form because there’s less librarian involvement in the purchase decision. At the outset, a librarian decides on parameters such as the price range and the types of books to include for PDA. After that, library users pick the books. When someone requests a book on interlibrary loan or when an electronic book crosses some threshold on how much it is used, the purchase happens.

The idea didn’t make it into the Chronicle of Higher Education until late last year because it’s becoming popular lately. Even at Morris Library, the idea has been around for a few years. By definition, books selected this way are going to be used by someone at least once. Moreover, within certain limits, being used in the past is one of the better predictors of whether a library book will be used in the future. 

Most libraries that I’ve heard about, including Morris, are only setting aside a fraction of their book budget for PDA. Even though programs have been popular, librarians are hesitant to jump in with both feet. One concern is whether this approach produces coherent collections that will be valuable over the long term. Another concern is that PDA mainly is sold for electronic books.

PDA for electronic books brings in all of the problems that electronic books currently have. Basic functions of print books are missing from many electronic library books. Being able to skim and browse without DRM blocking you, being able to print or copy a few pages for personal use, or being able to send a book on interlibrary loan are often (usually?) missing from electronic library books. At one of the sessions of the SLA conference, a speaker described licensing for e-books as “a jungle.”

If you want to know more about how “patron-initiated on-demand acquisitions” has worked at Morris Library, Andrea Imre and Jonathan Nabe have posted some conference presentations about it.