Can three libraries with different needs and goals successfully work together to build a strong shared collection and contain costs? This talk will highlight the practical aspects of how the CTW Consortium in Connecticut deployed a consortial print approval plan, complementary EBA ebook plans and a fulfillment network in order to save money while building a collection that meets patron needs. CTW, formed in 1987, is a consortium of Connecticut College, Trinity College and Wesleyan University. Each campus has a separate Alma catalog joined to the others through a shared fulfillment network, which allows users at each campus to request book delivery from the other two. Starting in November 2016, the consortium built on this successful service by implementing a shared print approval program that was modeled on a similar program at Colby, Bates and Bowdoin. Each school had its own reasons for sharing print purchases, including the desire to reduce duplication, save funds spent on print, move away from DDA, and lessen the workload of selectors. Since the implementation of the print approval plan, CTW’s institutions have made several big changes, including cancelling DDA programs (at two of the schools) and adding JSTOR and Project Muse EBA plans. For at least one school, the plan has been extremely helpful in making decisions about collection budget reductions. In this talk, speakers will share the current state of the approval plan, along with metrics gathered before and after plan implementation, such as circulation data, planned versus actual expenditures, collection duplication, patron perceptions and selector impressions of the plan. Speakers will also discuss the next steps for the program and grapple with some lingering questions, such as how far the consortium should go toward becoming a truly “shared collection,” and the implications this may hold for reserve services and collection growth.

1. Strong Collections, Controlled Costs:
Weathering theWinter Storm
Through Collaboration and a
Shared Acquisitions Program

2. Connecticut College
FTE: 1834
Trinity College
FTE: 2152
Wesleyan University
FTE: 3069
• History of in/formal collection development
• Shared ILS and eResource purchases
• YBP Profiling for NewTitle Notifications
• Softcover Preferred
• GOBItween to see C-T-W purchases

3. CTW Collection Practices: past and present
• Firm Orders by Selectors
• eBook Subscriptions
• STL/DDA programs (MIL & EBL)
• DRM free ebooks
• EBA programs (JSTOR & Project Muse)
• Shared Print Approval Plan

4. CTW Expenditures: Books vs. eResources/Journals
eResources/
Journals
74%
Books
26%
2009
eResources/
Journals
84%
Books
16%
2016

5. FY2008 FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 FY2012 FY2013 FY2014 FY2015 FY2016
CC
TC
WU
CTW
CTW Print Monograph Expenditures
Net Change FY2008 to FY2016: - 50.2%
Connecticut College: - 22.8%
Trinity College: - 54.5%
Wesleyan University: - 59.8%

6. • For eBooks: now prefer EBA, DRM-free titles
• Refocus on Print: new title availability and e -embargoes
• Print preferred for in-depth, academic use
• Print is more economical, even when bought in duplicate
• Print is shareable across the consortium
Refocusing Collection Priorities

7. Desired Outcomes
• Offer a high quality core collection from significant UPs
• Create a broader collection with more unique titles
• Provide more stable workflows, offer new titles more
quickly; fewer duplicate purchases
• Reduce selection workload; free time for other
responsibilities

8. The Profiling Process:
Identifying Publishers & Content Parameters

9. Shared Print Plan (a la Colby-Bates-Bowdoin)
• Broad profile in terms of subject areas
• Focus on University Presses
• 1 copy of new titles to share across CTW (duplicates on request)
• Rotate shipments on weekly basis
• CTW’s ILL to deliver titles across the consortium
• Minimum 3 years :: anticipate spending $100K per year

14. Evaluating Success
• Ease of set up and rotating shipments
• Titles received match expectations?
• Ability to quickly fulfill title requests across CTW
• Usage over time across CTW
• Requests for & cost of duplicates (P & E)

15. Results

16. Overlap Reduction: Pre- and Post- Plan
79%
21%
Pre-Plan
Unique Overlap
93%
7%
Post-Plan
Unique Overlap

17. GOBI Duplication Levels Pre- & Post- Plan
# Copies
across CTW
# Titles
Pre-Plan
# Titles
Post-Plan
4 1 1
3 70 5
2 480 210
1 2078 2995
Total Unique Titles 2629 3211
+582 titles
22% increase
Total Copies 3252 3434
Total Cost $137,752 $137,155 -$597

18. Cost perTitle Reduced 18%
$52.40
$39.94
$-
$10.00
$20.00
$30.00
$40.00
$50.00
$60.00
Cost per unique title before plan Cost per unique title after plan

19. Books from Publishers in Shared Plan vs. Not in Plan
Publishers In Plan Publishers Not in Plan
# Publishers 23 1240
Titles 3211 10,140
Top Publisher University of Chicago/ 465 Oxford University Press/ 1129
Top Subject E--History of Americas N--Art
Cost per title $42.71 $53.66
Total Spend $137,155 $543,998

20. Spend Outside of the Plan
$157,536
$51,767
$334,527
$-
$50,000
$100,000
$150,000
$200,000
$250,000
$300,000
$350,000
$400,000
Connecticut Trinity Wesleyan

21. Post-Plan Circ Data: On Home Campus, Across CTW
17.2%
2.4%
20.8%
4.3%
22.6%
3.0%
21.8%
4.3%
22.7%
2.4%
21.9%
3.3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Not in Plan/
Circulate at Home
Not in Plan/
Circulate in CTW
In Plan/
Circulate at Home
In Plan/
Circulate in CTW
Connecticut Trinity Wesleyan

22. Campus Perspectives

23. Trinity College
• Explosive growth in streaming video, 90% budget for digital, and
budget cuts have led to a big reduction in spending on print.
• Rely on approval plan and faculty requests. Direct purchase request
form in Primo for un-owned titles fromWorldcat records.
• We are totally out of DDA, embracing EBA for ebooks.
• History atTrinity of centralized selection. Individual librarians
emphasize outreach, consultation and teaching.They are happy to
spend less time selecting.

24. Wesleyan University
• Ongoing concern on how ebooks are used, very strong culture of valuing
print
• Selection distributed among 14 librarians
• Print approval plan became institutional annual goal, with aim of
reducing time demands on selectors, Wesleyan print approval pilot
merged into CTW plan
• Attractiveness of plan remains the near comprehensive coverage of
valued academic publishers
• Changing library culture to rely on shared CTW collection as core,
campus copy is always purchased upon request
• Explosive growth in video use--becoming a strain on the budget!

25. Connecticut College
• Remained in DDA with reduced profile; constantly re-evaluating.
• Key purpose of the print approval plan was to reduce staff selection
time. Still working to reduce; some selection still happening due largely
to gift funds that can/must be spent.
• Culture among librarians changing due to reorganization/merger with
instructional technology. Librarians increasingly asked to develop new
skills. Print approval program helps us move in this direction.
• Explosive growth in video use; few individual selections of DVDs.

26. Take Aways
• Successful in reducing duplication and costs
• Successful in reducing selection time BUT do need buy in and takes
more effort depending on institutional culture.We see this as the
Future!
• Should be easy to increase the plan to include more publishers
• Project led to better understanding of our collections

27. Challenges
• Can we be a shared collection?
• What does it mean for “ownership”?
• Reserves has been a challenge
• Floating Collections (do not return books to originating
institution)?
• Budgets for print are very different.

28. Questions?

29. ThankYou!
Fred Folmer – FFolmer@conncoll.edu
Katie Bauer – Kathleen.Bauer@trincoll.edu
Aaron Sandoval – ASandoval01@wesleyan.edu
Lorri Huddy – LHuddy@wesleyan.edu