2014 Charleston Library Conference

Consortia represent greater buying power and leverage for many libraries, but they face challenges in negotiation pricing and licensing agreements for Demand-Driven Acquisitions (DDA) programs as well as in representing them for discovery.  Come hear about two consortia’s, WNCLN Network and USMAI, experiences with shared DDA and ebook programs from investigation to implementation and discovery. Attendees will learn:

• How to create a consortial program for DDA or ebook purchasing and to communicate with partner institutions, match priorities, and use leverage to increase consortial access to DDA titles.


• What DDA consortia models are available to networks, particularly in comparison to separate DDA plans for individual libraries, and about the Limited Access Model.


• What management challenges exist for consortia, including administering shared budgets among schools with  varying size and resources, the creation of a shared DDA profile, and DDA record management within a shared catalog


• About technical set up of shared DDA ebooks programs to enable discovery. 


• About consortial advocacy for the library perspective in the selection and purchasing process and how consortia might to work with vendors and publishers to find a sustainable model that works for everyone.

A discussion with the audience will follow the presentation, sharing additional concerns or options for consortial DDA.