This document explores alternatives to demand-driven acquisition (DDA) models for e-books. It summarizes how DDA currently works and data on e-book usage and costs from Wake Forest University (WFU) over several years. It then considers four options to replace DDA: 1) continuing with DDA, 2) purchasing more print books, 3) purchasing e-book packages from publishers, and 4) an evidence-based acquisition model. For each option, it provides estimates of potential usage and costs per use. It finds that continuing DDA currently provides the lowest cost per use, but raises questions about the long-term sustainability of DDA and whether evidence-based acquisition could provide a lower cost alternative.

1. If DDA is Dead, then Long
Live…What?
An Exploration of DDA Alternatives
Carol Cramer, NCICU Purchasing Committee
May 18, 2016

2. Reminder: How DDA Works
• Load records for e-books that we haven’t paid for in the
catalog.
• The first 5 minutes of use are free.
• After the free period, we pay a rental fee for the first [3]
uses.
• Upon the [4th] use, we buy the e-book with permanent
rights.
…Or put another way…

3. DDA≈PPV

4. Per-STL Costs at WFU
$0.00
$2.50
$5.00
$7.50
$10.00
$12.50
$15.00
$17.50
$20.00
$22.50
$25.00
$27.50
$30.00
$32.50
$35.00
2011Oct.
2011Nov.
2011Dec.
2012Jan
2012Feb
2012Mar
2012Apr
2012May
2012Jun
2012Jul
2012Aug
2012Sept
2012Oct
2012Nov
2012Dec
2013Jan
2013Feb
2013Mar
2013Apr
2013May
2013Jun
2013Jul
2013Aug
2013Sept
2013Oct
2013Nov
2013Dec
2014Jan
2014Feb
2014Mar
2014Apr
2014May
2014Jun
2014Jul
2014Aug
2014Sept
2014Oct
2014Nov
2014Dec
2015Jan
2015Feb
2015Mar
2015Apr
2015May
2015June
2015July
2015Aug
2015Sept
2015Oct
2015Nov
2015Dec
2016Jan
2016Feb
2016Mar
avg cost/STL

5. EBL Counts at WFU
Provider June 2012 June 2013 June 2014 June 2015 May 2016
EBL DDA 87,127 179,826 227,898 185,309 159,722
EBL
Purchased
930 1,625 2,329 2,916
Ebrary (NC
LIVE)
148,499 161,778
Total 87,127 180,756 229,523 336,127 324,416

6. Two Questions
1. Is WFU (still) getting a good value from DDA?
2. If not (or if DDA collapses), what should we do
instead?

7. Four Options Considered
1. Stick with DDA
2. Buy More Print
3. Purchase E-Book Packages
4. Evidence-Based Acquisition
(and a few ideas I didn’t consider)

8. Option 1: DDA
170,000 books
$10.58/use (COUNTER BR1)
$28.27/STL

9. Option 2: Buy More Print
FY2011 Purchases
• 1.15 uses/book
• $39.40/use
Hypothetical
Additional Purchases
• 4,434 extra titles
• 1.00 uses/book
• $52.71/use

10. Option 3: E-Book Packages
• Buy 1 package that aggregates several smaller UPs
• Buy selected subjects from 1 major publisher
• Expect 30% usage of titles in 5 years (based on DDA
performance)
• 4,202 titles
• $97.31/use

11. Option 4: Evidence-Based Acquisition
• Pre-commit to a
purchase level
• Access all (or many)
books during extended
access period
• Buy books at the end
…Or put another way…

12. Spend $15,000, get $15,000 worth of books

13. Publisher Titles in WFU
DDA Pool
Usage Use rate/
penetration
Major commercial
publisher
36,952 3,729 10%
Large university
press
1,836 619 34%

14. Can we negotiate?
Why limit access titles
to 10X the spend
commitment?

16. Option 4: Evidence-Based Acquisition
Purchase 4,434 books
?? uses
$??/use

17. The alternatives ranked
1. Stick with DDA
($10.58/use)
2. Buy more print
($52.71/use)
3. Package purchase
($97.31/use)
Where does
Evidence-Based
fit in?

18. Photo Credits
• Pay-per-view: Faith Keay
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fulgentklutz/661874730
7
• Gift cards: 401(K) 2012
flickr.com/photos/68751915@N05/6710889059
• ClearChannel radio: David Prasad
flickr.com/photos/33671002@N00/5378985980
• 10: Quinn Dombrowski
flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/5005551816