Running Head: ILLUSTRATING AN EFFECTIVE PDA MODEL FOR RURAL SOUTHWEST KANSAS LIBRARIES 1

Illustrating an Effective Patron-Driven Acquisition Model for Rural Southwestern Kansas Libraries

Mindy E Brunkhardt Emporia State University

LI 855 Collection Development and Management November 2012

ILLUSTRATING AN EFFECTIVE PDA MODEL FOR RURAL SOUTHWEST KANSAS LIBRARIES

Introduction
Melvil Dewey believed the librarian should collect materials with the intent to improve and positively shape the community (Rubin, 2010). In southwest Kansas, this means the librarian would choose which materials filled the shelves of the public library, ensuring citizens of the city and county partake of information deemed appropriate and wholesome. Richard O. Masons (1990) mission statement challenges Deweys philosophy of the librarians purpose by stating the librarian should get the right information from the right source to the right client at the right time in the form most suitable for the use to which it is to be put at a cost that is justified by its use (sic) (p. 122). Deweys philosophy and Masons statement express the two sides of the paradigm shift the library world is experiencing. Collection development has shifted along with the overall library paradigm to focus on the user and their information needs (Fischer K.S, Wright M, Barton H, Shreeves E, & Clatanoff K, 2012; Gregory & Swords, 2012; Hodges, Preston, & Hamilton, 2010). Librarians search for alternative collection development methodologies to include in their overall collection development policies. Patron-driven acquisition (PDA) is a growing method of collection development, for both print books and ebooks, in academic libraries, larger public libraries or closely-knit public library systems to meet the demands of their patrons. Smaller public libraries use PDA but with a very informal methodology, possibly due to the nature of the small town library patrons browsing habits. This paper attempts to answer two questions:

First, should a librarian guide a publics reading interests, or should the librarian meet the demands set by the public?

Secondly, and perhaps more plausibly, since small public libraries do not have the same patron needs or resources as their academic counterparts, how do small public libraries design the guidelines for patron-driven acquisition collection development?

By reviewing relevant literature associated with academic institutions and analyzing current practices in small public libraries, an illustration of an effective PDA model for rural southwest Kansas public libraries emerges.

Literature Review
Most of the literature available on forms of PDA focuses on academic libraries, either for print or electronic book collections. This is unsurprising as many academic librarians may produce research as part of

ILLUSTRATING AN EFFECTIVE PDA MODEL FOR RURAL SOUTHWEST KANSAS LIBRARIES their professional position; additionally, electronic and digital materials are a newer form of information

delivery, and larger libraries and their patrons respond with enthusiastic consumption. For decades, librarians have relied on patron requests to fill the gaps of their collection, though the ultimate decision to add the material or not has traditionally lain with the librarian (Hodges et al., 2010). PDA, however, does not replace the necessity of a complete community needs assessment, as adamantly asserted by Downey.

PDA through ILL

A 10-year longitudinal study from Purdue University Libraries examined if PDA books requested through ILL actually fit the libraries collection and if the university population would benefit by purchasing them (Anderson et al., 2010; Nixon, Freeman, & Ward, 2010; Nixon & Saunders, 2010). After analyzing the data, the researchers found that patron-selected materials circulated at a higher rate than librarian-selected materials. Furthermore, upon scrutinizing the PDA material, librarians determined the books fit the collection development policy and, in some cases, filled niches in the current collection or explored new areas of crossdisciplinary research. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln library completed a five-year study of a patron-requested print-ondemand (POD) program based on ILL requests. The researchers found that patrons do make effective selectors of appropriate material. Moreover, while using the POD program was slightly more expensive to acquire each book, when compared to material selected through the collection development policy, the increased circulation rates of POD books justified the additional spending (Tyler, Melvin, Xu, Epp, & Kreps, 2011).

PDA for Ebooks

Richard Trueswell, in 1969, found that 20 percent of the library collection comprised 80 percent of the circulation. The Kent Study (sic) at the University of Pittsburgh reinforced the same hypothesis that a small portion of the collection accounted for the major portion of circulation (Fischer K.S et al., 2012, p. 471). Fischer and colleagues found that at the University of Iowa, an ebook-only PDA planunmediated by librarians with immediate availability to patrons through the click of their mouseeffectively provided proof that ebooks filled a gap created by print materials. Print copies of test prep bookssuch as First Aid for the USMLE Step 3, Current Diagnosis and Treatment: Pediatrics, and McGraw-Hills GREwere not included in the

ILLUSTRATING AN EFFECTIVE PDA MODEL FOR RURAL SOUTHWEST KANSAS LIBRARIES print collection because patrons used them as workbooks. The ebook format disallowed this practice, and

University of Iowa librarians now use PDA as a useful and effective tool for meeting user needs and building the local collection (Fischer K.S et al., 2012, p. 490).

Benefits and Limitations of PDA

In reviewing David A. Swords book Patron-Driven Acquisitions: History and Best Practices, Gregory (2012) states that while PDA should not be the sole collection development methodology, it is an effective portion of a good collection development plan. Gregory succinctly summarizes the benefits of PDA to include

instant access for ebooks and, if using an efficient bookseller, expeditious access for print materials, greater choice of content, low-risk experimentation, and additional time for librarians to attend to other tasks.

Conversely, limitations of PDA include changing the collection development paradigm of librarians, adding staff time to manage a PDA program and ensuring collection balance over time.

Importance of Community Analysis

Lastly, and somewhat conversely, Jennifer Downey (2005), in an article encouraging continued improvement of access to resources for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) patrons, states that librarians are gatekeepersthe people who decide what their communities would like to read (p. 90). Furthermore, patrons needing information with an attached societal stigma are often quite private about their information needs (p. 89). It is safe to surmise that all patrons feel uncomfortable placing an ILL or purchase request for books at one time or another. Downey boldly states that the librarians role is to provide access, whether the materials circulate or not (p. 92). Librarians should continuously conduct community analyses, scanning the environment and specialized resources for information sources for marginalized groups, apportion the budget for these materials and publicize access despite possible community backlash.

Methodology
Libraries have different methodologies to implement a PDA program based on the format of the material, and the size and purpose of the institution. By analyzing the current methods in practice at large academic or

ILLUSTRATING AN EFFECTIVE PDA MODEL FOR RURAL SOUTHWEST KANSAS LIBRARIES public libraries and in smaller public libraries, common and successful trends rise, useful to formulate an effective PDA plan for rural Kansas libraries.

Criteria for PDA Purchases in Academic and Large Public Libraries

In 1990, Bucknell University started a POD program, based on ILL requests, purchasing books if it was faster or more economical than borrowing (Hodges et al., 2010). The criteria they used included cost, publication date, availability to borrow or purchase the item, turnaround time, level of scholarship, and the borrowers status (p. 209). Purdue University Libraries also implemented a PDA program based on ILL requests. Before any ILLs processed, however, the ILL clerk compared each request to the following five-point criteria to determine if a purchase should process instead of a lend request. The librarians criteria, after some initial modifications, required books and DVDs to be scholarly nonfiction, written in English, published within three years, costing less than $150 and receivable one week from the bookseller (Nixon et al., 2010). McGill University librarys POD criteria allow titles written in both English and French, but all material must fall within the scope of the overall collection policy. The librarians precluded dissertations and audiovisual materials, but included paperbacks and hardcover editions. McGill University library did not stipulate a maximum cost if the item met the other criteria (Herrera & Greenwood, 2011). The University of Mississippi Libraries (UML) patron-initiated purchasing (PIP) program required requested books fit into similar criteria to Purdue University. The differences, though, is UML librarians specified popular titles, audio books, VHS, dissertations, textbooks, study guides, workbooks, self-help books, encyclopedias or proceedings are not purchased. The librarians do allow dictionaries based on price and content. Further, to determine popular titles, the acquisitions department relies on the book vendors collection development tool; if listed in GOBI as popular, the title was not purchased (Herrera & Greenwood, 2011, p. 13). In the case of the Thomas Crane Public Library, the only public library reference we could discover in the current literature, purchases made on a case-by-case basis are determined using availability, cost, and subject matter (Herrera & Greenwood, 2011).

ILLUSTRATING AN EFFECTIVE PDA MODEL FOR RURAL SOUTHWEST KANSAS LIBRARIES

The Ohio State University Libraries implemented two different types of PDA plans in 2009: one for print resources and one for ebooks through ebrary. For the ebook patron-driven access plan the purchase criteria excluded MARC records from the library catalog with the following inhibitors:

pre-2007 imprints, a list price of over $299.99, 40 different publishers who were already on a standing order or via the state consortium, 20 different subject headings, such as juvenile fiction and self-help, computer manuals, technical areas in law, foreign language texts with no English language content and fictional titles, though literary fiction and short stories were included (Hodges et al., 2010).

Current PDA Methodology in Two Small Public Libraries in Kansas

The library director of Tonganoxie Public Library (TPL), a small town library located in northeast Kansas, heavily relies on patron requests for urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels. Kelly Fann, library director, states she personally does not read this genre, so she relies on patron requests to develop this section of fiction. One patron in particular has requested nearly every monograph the library has available, and the books always circulate heavily. Fann states this genre now has its own section in the library stacks (personal communication, n.d.). Liberal Memorial Library (LML) in rural southwest Kansas, nearly the exact opposite corner as TPL, is approximately double the size of Tonganoxie, though still considered a small town library compared to Wichita, Topeka & Shawnee County or Kansas City public libraries. Library director, Jill Pannkuk, says she generally purchases requested books if published within the last five years unless they completely fall out of scope for the library collection (personal communication, n.d.). If the publication date exceeds five years, or the title fits outside of the scope, she recommends the patron request the book through ILL. Pannkuk does not monitor PDA items circulating records, so it is difficult to determine if these items circulate more than other materials.

ILLUSTRATING AN EFFECTIVE PDA MODEL FOR RURAL SOUTHWEST KANSAS LIBRARIES Both TPL and LML are part of library systems in Kansas, though Tonganoxie is part of the Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS), which is extremely effective in exchanging books between libraries for patron use. If available in a system library, the patron receives the book in a matter of 24 to 36 hours. LML,

however, is part of SWKLS whose turnaround time is not as quick as NEKLS in loaning materials due to the geographical distances between system libraries. Instead, LML relies on ILL for items that are not available locally; response time for this service is a week or more. Since Tonganoxie Public and Liberal Memorial are system libraries, their catalogs both have attached ILL request forms. TPLs catalog, though, also has a link that allows patrons, once they have logged in, to make a purchase suggestion. At LML, patrons may make a suggestion through either emailing or calling the library or, more commonly, writing the title of the book on a slip of paper at the circulation desk, which is then passed to the library director for a purchase decision. In perusing LMLs collection development policy, the first and last principles considered for collecting are contemporary significance and response to popular demand (Liberal Memorial Library, n.d.). As the public understands what is both contemporary and popular far more quickly than a single individual responsible for collecting for the entire community, both of these principles would justify PDA as an effective methodology for collection development.

PDA Best Practices for Small Rural Kansas Public Libraries

Based upon an analysis of the commonalities among academic library PDA models, and the effectiveness of Tonganoxies PDA program, three parts of a successful PDA plan include criteria, implementation and evaluation.

Criteria

The criteria for PDAs for a rural Kansas public library should start with the community analysis as

expressed in the collection development plan. Unless any community idiosyncrasies exists, the PDAs should accept

all formats listed in the development plan, a publication date of less than two years, titles with a soon-to-be-released new movie adaptation,

ILLUSTRATING AN EFFECTIVE PDA MODEL FOR RURAL SOUTHWEST KANSAS LIBRARIES

paperback or hardcover, maximum cost of $30 and available from the bookseller in less time than ILL or one week.

Implementation

Implementation of PDAs requires two parts: easy format for patron requests and marketing. Considering

the long distances between the library and its patrons in rural Kansas, a number of options exist for submitting a purchase request.

Invite patrons to email the librarian with a subject line of purchase request. Create a Web-based form with all the required data fields to identify the book and, if the patron desires, placing it on hold when ready for circulation.

Create a printable form available online for postal mail submissions. Make this same form available in the library and create a confidential place to submit the form to the librarian.

List the librarys phone number with a customized phone message on the answering machine. If the library is closed, patrons can select the customized mailbox to make a purchase request.

If the library already has a marketing plan, adding information about PDA would pose little challenge. Online advertising would start the marketing campaign. However, as with all library services, advertising cannot stop with online advertisement for rural towns. We never looked online for our towns library website until we started library school; residents of rural Kansas towns easily forget about the library. Other forms of cheap advertisement are required. Small town librarians must be extremely resourceful. Very rarely do patrons in rural western Kansas travel to town unless they have multiple reasons. However, western Kansas towns do have weekly newspapers that deliver to the country mailboxes, church bulletins and newsletters receive weekly perusal, and community and school event flyers always have an extra space that needs filling. All of these create excellent, cheap or even free opportunities for library advertising.

Evaluation

New programs in a library require creating and completing evaluations. Programs use money, and money is

not cheap but very scarce. On a yearly basis, libraries should compare PDA-requested items with circulation statistics. Using this information, the librarian can then determine if the PDA budget allocations are correctly

ILLUSTRATING AN EFFECTIVE PDA MODEL FOR RURAL SOUTHWEST KANSAS LIBRARIES

balanced with other forms of collection development. The starting budget allowed for PDA could comprise 25 percent of the overall collection budget, but this amount would need adjustment depending on the communitys response. If, after a year, the program seems to be lagging, the librarian should consider increased marketing efforts. If, after a second year, PDA still does not seem a productive method to use funds, then the librarian should consider setting aside a smaller percentage for PDA and spend more on other forms of collection development. Conversely, if PDA seems affective for the community, then the librarian should consider asking the city or county commissioners for increased funds for collection development using the statistics from the increased use of the library by the community.

Conclusion
Determining if a librarian should guide a publics reading interests, or if the librarian should meet the demand set by the public is a difficult position, and the answer depends on each individual librarian and institution. Librarians should select materials that improve the community, but determining what materials actually improve someone is impossible; therefore, a clear picture of the community must first be painted before collection begins. Serving as a guide to knowledge, librarians must ensure the collection development policy considers all community information needs. ILL and PDA are secondary to when needs assessments and approval plans fail to collect the requisite information. Librarians determine when the community benefits by adding the information source to the collection, and when it should remain borrowed. When the balance tips to purchasing, patron-driven acquisition begins.

ILLUSTRATING AN EFFECTIVE PDA MODEL FOR RURAL SOUTHWEST KANSAS LIBRARIES

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References
Anderson, K. J., Freeman, R. S., Herubel, J.-P. V. M., Mykytiuk, L. J., Nixon, J. M., & Ward, S. M. (2010). Liberal arts books on demand: A decade of patron-driven collection development, part 1. Collection Management, 35(3/4). Downey, J. (2005). Public library collection development issues regarding the information needs of GLBT patrons. Progressive Librarian, (25), 8695. Fischer K.S, Wright M, Barton H, Shreeves E, & Clatanoff K. (2012). Give em what they want: A one-year study of unmediated patron-driven acquisition of e-Books. Coll. Res. Libr. College and Research Libraries, 73(5), 469492. Gregory, G. M., & Swords, D. A. (2012). Creating a viable collection strategy.(Patron-driven acquisitions: History and best practices)(Book review). Information Today, 29(6). Herrera, G., & Greenwood, J. (2011). Patron-Initiated Purchasing: Evaluating Criteria and Workflows. Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Electronic Reserves, 21(1/2). Hodges, D., Preston, C., & Hamilton, M. J. (2010). Patron-initiated collection development: Progress of a paradigm shift. Collection Management, 35(3/4). Liberal Memorial Library. (n.d.). Collection development policy. Retrieved September 23, 2012, from http://www.lmlibrary.org/about/Collection_Development_Policy.aspx Mason, R. O. (1990). What is an information professional? Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 31(2), 12238. Nixon, J. M., Freeman, R. S., & Ward, S. M. (2010). Patron-driven acquisitions: An introduction and literature review. Collection Management, 35(3/4). Nixon, J. M., & Saunders, E. S. (2010). A study of circulation statistics of books on demand: A decade of patron-driven collection development, part 3. Collection Management, 35(3/4). Rubin, R. E. (2010). Foundations of library and information science (3rd ed.). New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.

ILLUSTRATING AN EFFECTIVE PDA MODEL FOR RURAL SOUTHWEST KANSAS LIBRARIES Tyler, D., Melvin, J., Xu, Y., Epp, M., & Kreps, A. (2011). Effective selectors? Interlibrary loan patrons as monograph purchasers: A comparative examination of price and circulation-related performance. Journal of Interlibrary Loan,Document Delivery & Electronic Reserve, 21(1-2), 12.

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