Dear colleagues,
Our library is exploring patron driven acquisitions (PDA). I'm looking for some help in understanding PDA from an accounting standpoint.
A lot of academic libraries and vendors have implemented patron driven acquisitions (PDA). Under PDA, a library works with a vendor to create a profile similar to an approval plan profile, which results in a set of bibliographic records being loaded into the library's OPAC for free. These bibliographic records contain live links to e-books, which the library's patrons can use immediately. After an e-book is "used" a specific number of times, the library is automatically billed for the purchase of that e-book. The library is not billed for any e-books that don't receive enough uses.
Our library is very careful to maintain appropriate audit trails. I think it would be very difficult to justify PDA to an auditor: "We agree in advance to pay the vendor for some content, then the vendor decides what we bought and how much we owe for it." If your library has implemented PDA, how have you dealt with this issue, or have you? In other words, how do you know for sure you're getting what you paid for, or do you care?
It seems to me the piece that's missing is either mutual verification between the library and vendor about how much a PDA e-book was used (but we couldn't funnel this through our circulation system), or having an independent third party certify the usage numbers provided by the vendor.
Thank you in advance for your help!
Stephen
Stephen M. Brooks, MLIS
Head, Monographic Services Dept.
CB #3902, Davis Library
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
919-962-1128 (voice)
919-962-4450 (fax)
stephen_brooks_at_unc.edu<mailto:stephen_brooks_at_unc.edu>
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Received on Fri Jun 24 2011 - 20:03:38 EDT