A Demand-Driven-Preferred Approval Plan

Abstract

While demand-driven acquisition (DDA) or patron-driven acquisition (PDA) focuses on providing library materials at a user’s point of need, approval plans attempt to help the library collect everything that might be desired in the future. DDA is the standard method of just-in-time library collecting, while approval plans are a prime example of just-in-case collecting. Therefore, these two methods are often perceived as oppositional library acquisitions practices. Yet, for the start of the 2013–14 fiscal year, California State University, Fullerton’s Pollak Library implemented a hybrid approach of DDA and the approval plan, which came to be known as the DDA-preferred approval plan. This study analyzes the cost and number of books acquired before and after the implementation. Findings demonstrate that the library was able to provide access to a significantly higher number of books in the 2013–14 academic year than in the prior year, and spent much less, suggesting that DDA and the approval plan can work together harmoniously for cost-effective collection building.