Patron Drivers, Patron Impacts: Investigating Potential Patron Impacts of Moving to a Patron Driven Acquisition Model for Print Books

Abstract

This study investigates the use of print titles purchased on approval and how quickly they become available as ebooks. Using this information, we explore the potential impact on patrons if the library was to move to a demand driven acquisitions process for print books. We found that at our library, the low overall usage of print titles received on approval indicates that patrons would be minimally inconvenienced by switching to this method in which records would be loaded into the catalog and titles would only be purchased when requested. Additionally, we found that the impact on patrons decreases over time as more titles become available as ebooks. Although differences exist between disciplines, overall findings show that a demand driven acquisitions process for print books would result in substantial budgetary savings without sacrificing patron service at our library. In addition to the description of our program, we describe some data analysis methods that can be used at other libraries in order to estimate potential impact on patron service and satisfaction.