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Evidence-based Selection:A Case Study

Julia Gelfand, University of California, Irvine Libraries

Susan Sanders, Taylor & Francis

Charleston Conference, 7 November 2014

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Librarian’s PerspectiveJulia Gelfand, UCI(jgelfand@uci.edu)

• Background – The University of California had a full archive of CRC eBooks from 2002-2012 with perpetual access

• Campuses reviewed priorities

• In 2013, selected 6 CRCnetBASES for Tier 2 access (5+ campuses participating)

• In 2014, explored options for “demand driven acquisitions” (DDA)

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More history…Acquiring engineering books from CRC Press

• Largest collection of titles from CRC Press: CRCnetBASE’s (eBook platform) ENGnetBASE – 2310+ titles from 1999 in database

• UC has 6 active & growing Schools of Engineering• Became test for DDA in 2013

ENGnetBASE CivilENGINEERINGnetBASE ElectricalENGINEERINGnetBASE

GeneralENGINEERINGnetBASE IndustrialENGINEERINGnetBASE

MechanicalENGINEERINGnetBASE MiningENGINEERINGnetBASE

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Advantages

• Administered by California Digital Library (CDL) unit of University of California

• Added all new titles as released

• Standard DDA procedures introduced – but no final decisions based on number of uses; title acquired for system-wide access by campuses’ review

• Process engaged multiple colleagues & campuses in collection strategy

• Did not force the same model for all CRCnetBASEs

• Received MARC records to load in local catalogs through the UC shared cataloging program

• Publisher knew what the minimum payout would be; CDL could budget accordingly

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Decision-making process

• Wanted to utilize the CRCnetBASE platform instead of via aggregator

• Only wanted DRM free content

• Wanted to make sure that users could search/find related yet relevant content

• Wanted to share costs or distribute through the consortia members; keep unit costs reasonable

• Reaffirms what DDA means – buy what we need at time of need

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Procedures in play

• Defined goals with CRC Press

• Worked closely with book vendor (YBP) & revised approval plan profiles –YBP receives content about netBASE placement from CRC

• Concurrent users across campuses

• Shared centralized cataloging distributed

• If needed, print copies can be added

• Year-end statistical analysis conducted by CDL

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Year-End Analysis

• Payment was made 2x/year to publisher determined by minimum spend

• Titles added in last quarter rolled over – thus 16 month review

• Factor analysis was 2.5x cost of title in print

• Member libraries reviewed usage as provided by CRC

• Usage did not always determine acquisition, but usually was a strong indicator

• Statistical analysis also included anticipating value of content with no or low use

• First year conclusion was about 7% more than projected

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Lessons Learned Thus Far

• Can add as many titles as needed

• Entire consortium benefits from shared purchases & individual campus use

• Particularly beneficial for release of large number of titles

• Usage data very helpful

• Still have to promote content in various ways

• Experience can be scaled for analogous content

• Have total flexibility

• Makes financial sense – offers consortia full access

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If we could do anything differently, what?

• Have full cataloging records

• Not have to conduct multiple reviews

• Reduce publishing cycle for year-end

• Better anticipate what ratio of title list will be added

• Apply this model to other sister imprints of T&F & other eBook offers

Publisher Perspective

An Evidence-Based Selection Model (EBS)

• Standard aspects:• Publisher to provide MARCS, usage stats

• Agreed-upon spend (no up-front deposit required in this case)

• Access to content in a specific subject area

• One calendar year term

• Unique complications:• Shared ownership of purchased titles among all system member schools

• Specific publication year only (as prior content was already owned by the system)

Things that helped

• Existing customers

• Users already used to having access to and using our content in this area

• Less need to publicize to end users to promote discoverability, usage

Details, details…

• How do we handle the need for a joint/parent account as well as individual school stats?

• Is there any easy way to differentiate between usage of just these titles and the older titles already owned in this area?

• How are we making sure that they get new MARCs in a timely fashion?

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Clear Communication

• Do support staff fully understand the details of the agreement?

• Does everyone know specifically what their responsibilities are?

• Does our billing department understand how/when we will be invoicing purchases?

• Do we all understand how we define publication year?

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Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA)

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Recognize when you need to change direction

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Adjustments

• Realized need to extend access period, in particular to allow 4th quarter publications time to be discovered and used

• Extended amount of time content was accessible

• Split into 2 orders: half by mid-December, remainder my mid-June of following year.

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Takeaways

• One size does not fit all; there are benefits to a mixed-bag approach to collection development

• Continue to offer, and be open to, various means of purchase/access

• EBP puts ever more importance on discoverability and usage statistics

• Listen to your customers; work together

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What’s Ahead?

Susan SandersAccount Manager – Western Region, eBooks and Digital Content(646) 379-4673susan.sanders@taylorandfrancis.com