The Arizona Universities Library Consortium patron-driven e-book model

Abstract

Building on Arizona State University's patron-driven acquisitions (PDA) initiative in 2009, the Arizona Universities Library Consortium, in partnership with the Ingram Content Group, created a cooperative patron-driven model to acquire electronic books (e-books). The model provides the opportunity for faculty and students at the universities governed by the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) to access a core of e-books made accessible through resource discovery services and online catalogs. These books are available for significantly less than a single ABOR university would expend for the same materials. The patron-driven model described is one of many evolving models in digital scholarship, and, although the Arizona Universities Library Consortium reports a successful experience, patron-driven models pose questions to stakeholders in the academic publishing industry.