The Bottom Line: DDA, E-Textbooks, and Student Savings at LSU Libraries
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Collection development has passed through various trend cycles in academic libraries with the demand driven acquisition (DDA) model being one currently experiencing widespread acceptance and adoption. Also known as patron driven acquisition, this acquisition strategy moves the purchasing impetus from being "just-in-case”—a model attempting to anticipate user needs, to a "just-in-time”—a point-of-need model. Librarians face the challenge of developing a collection that supports learning, teaching, and research needs, now and in the future, all with limited funds. DDA plans are intended to help address this challenge by being more responsive to immediate needs than traditional acquisition models. Yet, librarians at Louisiana State University (LSU) Libraries recently ended all DDA plans in an attempt to more adequately meet user needs and support learning, teaching, and research. The focus of collection development shifted to large e-book collections. These met user preferences for titles without restrictions on printing and saving and provided simultaneous access for an unlimited number of users. Given these features, their potential for course use was examined. Through the subsequent process, course adopted titles were identified and promoted as a library-funded alternative to the traditional student-purchased textbooks. This chapter details how the decision to terminate DDA plans and invest in e-book packages resulted in large upfront costs but enabled advantages in key areas of usability and curricular integration. Collecting and promoting high quality course titles has allowed the Libraries to drive e-book usage and engage in impactful collection development.