Competing eBook acquisition models: which model best serves a community college library?
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/CC-07-2019-0019 |
| Published date | 12 December 2019 |
| Pages | 33-40 |
| Date | 12 December 2019 |
| Author | Michael LaMagna,Erica Swenson Danowitz,Andrea Rodgers |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Collection building & management |
Competing eBook acquisition models: which
model best serves a community college library?
Michael LaMagna, Erica Swenson Danowitz and Andrea Rodgers
Delaware County Community College, Media, Pennsylvania, USA
Abstract
Purpose –Academic libraries continue to invest in eBooks to ensure access to content in various formats. This paper aims to examine eBook
acquisition models, including patron-driven acquisitions, one-time purchases, focused collection subscriptions or large-scale subscriptions, to better
understand how users engage with this content based on usage data.
Design/methodology/approach –Usage data provide insights into eBook acquisition and how access models influence use. This study defines the
acquisition model for each eBook purchase. Data were examined to determine usage by acquisition model and cost-per-use.
Findings –This paper finds that for a large suburban community college, a large-scale subscription model has the lowest cost-per-use and serves
the largest portion of students. Focused collection subscriptions supported small, specialized programs in the Allied Health, Emergency Services, and
Nursing fields.
Originality/value –This paper examines how eBooks are acquired to determine which model best serves an academic library commun ity,
specifically a community college library, which is currently underrepresented in the literature.
Keywords Community colleges, eBooks, Cost analysis, Acquisition models, Subscription models, Usage data
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Although eBook use by college students continues to grow,
many academic libraries struggle with finding ideal eBook
acquisition models that best serve their patrons without
straining tight budgets. Current eBook acquisition models
include patron-driven acquisition (PDA)/demand-driven
acquisition (DDA), one-time purchases, focused collection
subscriptions, and large-scale subscriptions. The librarians at
Delaware County Community College (DCCC or “the
College”) have experimented with a range of eBook
subscriptions to better gauge cost-effectiveness and how these
acquisition modelsinfluence use. This article discusses how the
DCCC librarians gained insights into different eBook
acquisitions models by examiningusage data and conducting a
cost analysis. The data revealed that eBook subscriptions and
how they are used definitelydo not fit a one-size-fits-allpattern.
DCCC is a suburban two-year institution located outside
Philadelphia with a total enrollment of 10,000 students.
Although it has eight campuses found in both Delaware and
Chester counties, its central library is situated within a
Learning Commons found at the College’s Marple location in
Media, Pennsylvania. Since DCCC’s founding in 1967 the
library has undergone many changes from humble origins in a
temporary trailer, to its current location in the state-of-the-art
Learning Commons, which opened in 2013. As the libraryand
its locations evolved so did its collection development plan.
Before 2002, no written collection development plan existed,
and when it was finally formulated,it was created to realign the
collection with changing curricular needs. The library had
approximately66,000 materials in its collection before this plan
was implemented. The collection development plan included
the first deselection guidelines which enabled the librarians to
remove over 10,000 redundant items by 2007. In 2010, plans
for the Learning Commons required that the librarians
aggressively weed more physical items. Space limitations
necessitated the removal of 30,000 materials, includinga large
amount of reference titles. During this period, more physical
items were weededthan added to the collection.
The heavy weeding was met with some dismay by the
librarians who strove to build the library’scollections for almost
two decades. The librarians’objections to the loss of so many
volumes helped jumpstart eBook acquisitions. After some
discussion about the future of the library’s collection, college
administrators responded by increasing the small eBook
budget. Adding new eBook subscriptions helped offset the
number of print materials that had been removed. Between
2013 and 2019, eBooks acquisitions rose from 1,361 to
237,260 titles. Initial eBook subscriptions included focused
collection subscriptions (i.e. Credo Reference, Safari) and
PDA models (i.e. EBSCO, Rittenhouse’sR2 Digital library).
By 2019, the DCCC library had a myriad of eBook platforms
including subscriptions to large-scale collections (ProQuest’s
Ebook Central CollegeComplete) and one-time purchase titles
(Gale Virtual Reference Library, Salem). The library also had
focused collection subscriptionsto Safari’s Technology eBooks
that helped support particularcomputer science courses in line
with the existing licensing agreement. After six years of
Thecurrentissueandfulltextarchiveofthisjournalisavailableon
Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/2514-9326.htm
Collection and Curation
39/2 (2020) 33–40
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 2514-9326]
[DOI 10.1108/CC-07-2019-0019]
Received 3 July 2019
Revised 20 October 2019
Accepted 20 October 2019
33
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