I think PDA may be the wrong term (at least for public libraries). Tim Coates used the term ‘Demand Driven *Access*’ –this takes away the ‘acquisition’ idea. A library doesn’t need to own an ebook to provide users with access to it. There is a spectrum of different kinds of libraries. For some ‘ownership’ (and therefore acquisition) will be very important-one thinks of national libraries or perhaps some major academic research libraries. Others (and probably public libraries fit here) will be more about access.
There are two useful presentations on the (Jisc project) ‘Challenge of ebooks’ website (http://ebookchallenge.org.uk/. Although the focus is academic libraries you may find the presentation useful in unpicking the issues. (They are on the ‘case study’ page under ‘curation’ heading. Direct links to the presentations are provided below):-
Ebooks: build or access?
Sue Polanka (US ebooks ‘guru’- runs the ‘no shelf required blog’) looks at the tension and trade-offs between building a collection (acquire ebooks) and providing access. It looks graphically at the issues and challenges around ‘fully curating’ as opposed to just providing access. She comments:
“When librarians ask me for advice about purchasing eBooks I always ask them what their goals are. For example, do they want to build a comprehensive research collection or would they rather pay for access. Some libraries prefer to build, others would rather spend their money by accessing more content for shorter periods of time, and others will want some combination of the two”.
Patron Driven ebooks
The example from Royal Holloway, University of London is presented as a PDF version of a presentation by Anna Grigson (at the 2012 National Acquisitions Group -NAG- conference).
Hope this helps.
Ken
Ken Chad Consulting Ltd
Tel +44 (0)7788 727 845. Email: [log in to unmask] www.kenchadconsulting.com
From: Ebook services in public libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ken Chad
Sent: 06 August 2013 00:06
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Patron driven acquisition (PDA)
I blogged about Tim Coates (Bilbary) model on the shelffree blog:- http://shelffree.org.uk/2013/07/26/frictionless-ebook-lending-from-public-libraries/
and specifically discussed aspects of PDA. This was based on my experience with *academic* libraries, derived in part from an Ebooks and PDA project for JISC. The project web site http://ebmotmet.wikispaces.com/ has some useful resources, not least a number of PDA case studies http://ebmotmet.wikispaces.com/Case_studies.
There is also a short section (5.2) of the report http://ebmotmet.wikispaces.com/Report on ‘What is PDA’
David makes a good point about sustainability. Universities (in the case studies) found demand exceeded the amount they had put into funding PDA projects (PDA was not the only method of acquiring ebooks they used). So in some cases they withdrew records from the catalogue to ‘throttle’ demand. (If a user can’t see the book in the catalogue they can’t ‘demand’ it). PDA models are evolving all the time so we should not necessarily see these issues as fatal flaws in the principle.
Helen’s point about pricing is *really* interesting. With PDA of course there would not be a fixed cost per loan paid by the library. It would vary depending on how the library had set the parameters. The two other factors in the Tim Coates model will also affect viability/affordability. In his blog he mentions a single national system. That would save costs..instead of the many individual library authorities licensing separate ebook platforms there would only be one (or maybe just a very few)—so more money to ‘buy’ ebooks? As I mentioned in the shelf free blog the first elements of national public library catalogue infrastructure are already in place.
The other key factor in the model is payment to publishers and authors. It seems to me this is a critical factor in aligning interests and in David words get ‘publishers to play’.
Getting all the parts of the model into a working balance will take some effort and imagination. I think it will also demand public libraries look harder and imaginatively at the value they provide beyond the supply of books. Of course they do lots of things beyond supply now...but the new digital world brings new challenges and opportunities for the library in what Christopher Platt from NYPL called , in a recent article, the ‘e-reading ecosystem’ (link on LGLibTech ebooks page if you are interested http://lglibtech.wikispaces.com/E-Books). Libraries might for example play a more intentioned role in driving sales.
Ken
Ken Chad Consulting Ltd
Tel +44 (0)7788 727 845. Email: [log in to unmask] www.kenchadconsulting.com
Skype: kenchadconsulting Twitter: @KenChad LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kenchad
My presentations on slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/kenchad
From: Ebook services in public libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Moger
Sent: 03 August 2013 00:02
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: FW: Patron driven acquisition (PDA)
I've looked at PDA for a job interview presentation (didn't get it!) and while teaching a module on a course at Univ of the West of England. It's similar to supplier selection for print books, only it is your readers (patrons) who do the selecting. I'm not sure the public library e-book model is set up the same way as the academic model. I can open e-books, articles and journals from the UWE library website. I don't have to download the whole book. This is where the significant usage comes in. I can read a few pages of the article to see if it is what I want. If I don't, I may not trigger a significant use.
In the public library scenario at present the reader downloads the whole book to their PC/e-book reader. We would have to negotiate a number of free downloads before we purchase the book. So we may set the trigger at 3 downloads, then we buy the book and it is ours for good. (But where is it stored, and what happens if we later stop our subscription?)
JISC have done quite a bit of study of PDA - search for "jisc PDA" and you'll find loads.
One thing to be aware of is that in one JISC study on PDA in the UK, everyone they talked to said that they had to increase the budget for PDA material, but the up-side is that the material is used. No more buying e-books that sit on a server gathering dust .(?) Everthing you buy earns its place on your virtual shelf.
PDA has its place in public libraries, but it is one part of a varied range of acquisition methods and needs strict financial control. I think it is the answer to a lot of our e-book problems, but we need to convince the publishers to play.
David Moger
Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 14:54:50 +0100
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Patron driven acquisition (PDA)
To: [log in to unmask]
This is a really helpful document.
But if we did PDA in public libraries on a similar model, it sounds like we'd be paying a quarter of the list price for each loan.
We'd have to do some heavy-duty negotiation...
Regards
Helen Leech
Acting Virtual Services Manager
Surrey Library Service
Tel: 07792 225915
Email: [log in to unmask]
@helenleech
From: Frances Hambidge <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask],
Date: 31/07/2013 13:35
Subject: Re: Patron driven acquisition (PDA)
Sent by: Ebook services in public libraries <[log in to unmask]>
PDA tends to have been used for academic libraries for text books but the following document looks at it in more detail:
http://ebass25.rhul.ac.uk/2013/01/08/patron-driven-acquisition-models-for-use-within-library-consortia-draft/
Frances
Frances Hambidge
Swindon Central Library
E: [log in to unmask]
Web: www.swindon.gov.uk/libraries
From: Ebook services in public libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Helen Leech
Sent: 31 July 2013 12:02
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Patron driven acquisition (PDA)
I've just had an interesting exchange of emails with Tim Coates of Bilbary, who suggests that we should be thinking about PDA. I've only got a rudimentary understanding of it, and I don't think any of the public library aggregators offer it yet.
I assume that we would pay the suppliers per loan / issue, and the question that's exercising my mind it: how much? 50p per loan? £1?
I'm asking colleagues in my own service to find out what the average life of a popular library book is, which would give me a starting point.
I'd love to hear what you think.
Regards
Helen Leech
Surrey Library Service
@helenleech