2015 Charleston Library Conference

In 2014 the University of Wisconsin-Madison initiated a review of its ebook collection development program. This project led to the development of a concise ebook strategy that was designed to guide decision-making and practices surrounding the acquisition of ebooks. It also led to the end of the Libraries’ short-term loan (STL)-based demand driven acquisitions (DDA) program. This ebook acquisition program, which had been in place for nearly four years, was heavily used, well managed, consistently on budget and, in many ways, working precisely as expected, yet the decision to eliminate this program was fairly straightforward.

This session will explore the development of UW-Madison’s ebook strategy and how it is guiding the Libraries’ ebook program. It will also examine factors, including Libraries’ new ebook strategy, actions by publishers and ebook providers, and the local environment, that led the Libraries to end its STL-based DDA program. Finally, how the Libraries continue to employ just-in-time and data-driven acquisition models will be discussed.