Demand‐driven cooperative collection development: three case studies from the USA

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to ask how best to integrate cooperative and demand‐driven collection development in order to simultaneously lower costs, create efficiency, reduce redundancy, increase the range of accessible materials and satisfy patron demand.Design/methodology/approachBy means of example, this paper outlines ways in which the University at Buffalo Libraries are merging demand‐driven collection strategies with cooperative collection development and the rationale behind combining the two approaches.FindingsThis paper presents an analysis of three demand‐driven cooperative collection development programs describing the opportunities and challenges posed by such a combination and future directions in demand‐driven collaborative programs.Originality/valueThe paper provides insight into the structure and implementation of academic and multi‐type library demand‐driven cooperative collection development programs with possible applications for other library consortia.