Do Approval Plan Purchases Circulate More Than Firm Orders? Friday November 8, :15pm - 3:00pm Drayton Room, Francis Marion Hotel 33rd Annual Charleston Conference November 6 – 9, 2013 Issues in Book and Serial Acquisition “Too Much Is Not Enough!”

Definitions – Stark firm orders from catalogs or any source other than slips that are ed via approval profile – Kent Approval books are books sent automatically based on approval profile – Firms orders are any book ordered outside of the approval book plan, ie slips catalogs requests…..

Acquisition WorkflowsModels Stark All order are through YBP Slips are distributed via to faculty and librarians Firm orders come from publisher catalogs, etc. All orders are logged in house database Added to the Catalog upon arrival Kent 60% are YBP orders of those % approval other slips Amazon et all no of different providers Slips are distributed via gobi alerts OP order are sent Amazon Automated record loads

Kent Analysis combined Data charts for 4 years for Circ Graphs firm vs approval bar charts percentages and also if desired separate years charts longitudinal for circ over does approval circ more over time than discretionary Call number breakdown for subject for all years combined Difference in the number of titles purchased each year for each category By fund

Stark Analysis Stark combined Data charts for 4 years for Circ Graphs firm vs approval bar charts percentages and also if desired separate years charts longitudinal for circ over Call number breakdown for subject for all years combined Difference in the number of titles purchased each year for each category Kent by fund

Data Collection Stark Item based Includes internal use and checkouts and renewals Exclude items in non- circulating collections Cost per use based on average cost per print book not on individual prices Kent Bib title record based include checkouts and renewals Exclude items in non- circulating collections Cost per use based on average cost per print book not on individual prices

Data Collection Stark Title call number usage Kent Title Usage Fund code Vendor code Call number Bib number form

Outcomes cost per use ?? How well are print acquisition models working firm vs approval

Do print books purchased by individual selectors circulate more frequently than books acquired via an approval plan? There have been few studies that analyze circulation data categorized by acquisition model. Kent State University will share results from circulation data gathered from its large research library on the Kent Campus and a smaller regional campus library, comparing firm orders to approval plan orders over a five year period. Variable data such as publisher, publication date, LC classification and academic department further define effectiveness of these two acquisitions models.

Evaluation of these data could impact how funds are allocated across disciplines. Results may influence acquisition behavior and impact models such as print purchase- on-demand models, which typically have higher circulation compared with traditional acquisition models, as well as ebook purchasing models like Demand- Driven Acquisitions and Short Term Lending.

Attendees can expect to learn about (1) evaluating the effectiveness of selected vs. approval acquisition models for print books and (2) implications for strategic distribution of collection funds based on use outcomes for different acquisition models.

Usage Waiver … It is dangerous to rely on usage as a measure of value, particularly for books. Consider … Are all checkouts equal? Are renewals the result of not having enough time to read a book, or not getting around to reading it? Students get 6 week loans while faculty/staff get 17 week loans (still counted the same) What about in-house use? Still … It’s all we got

Stark Findings … In General … Consistency (Firm = Approval) Approval is more predictable 2010/2011 Fiscal Year (July-June) an Anomaly Books are being used! (Still a good investment)

Stark Findings … Books Purchased … Nearly equal numbers Firm = 1,274 Approval = 1,299 Difference = 25 (1%) Approval purchasing is consistent from year to year Firm purchasing, not so much Explanation: Faculty firm orders can change from year to year (new faculty) New programs (Music Tech) Accreditation

Stark Findings … Average Usage … Tracks consistently (Except for 2010/11) Expect average use to go down each year (Less time in collection to circulate) No statistical difference Average use is about 4.5 per book 28% of Firm orders, 23% of Approval Plan orders never used 80/20 rule is not in effect: FirmApproval Mean SD SEM N % of Use is by Firm33% Approval35%

Stark Findings … Average Cost/Book … Fairly consistent across years Based on average costs Firm = $52.04 Approval = $34.82 Firm Orders cost 50% more than Approval Plan orders Explanation: Approval Plan profile is mostly restricted to General Academic titles (which tend to cost less) (Believe it or not) Stark faculty tend to be more price conscious than librarian selectors (anecdotally speaking)

Stark Findings … Average Cost/Use … Average cost = Firm = $12.40 Approval = $7.82 Difference is a result of the difference is the cost/book (approximately the same ratio; firm orders cost 150% of approvals, cost per use for firm orders is 158% of approvals) Goes up proportionally year-by-year as newer books had less time to circulate 2010/11 breaks the pattern (those books more heavily used) Average cost/use for print serials during same time period: $364.53

Stark Findings … Subject Breakdown of Books Ordered …

Stark Findings … Subject Breakdown of Books Used …

Stark Findings … Subject Breakdown Statistically Speaking… Books ordered by subject: No Statistical difference between Firm and Approval Books used by subject: No Statistical difference between Firm and Approval FirmApproval Mean SD SEM N21 FirmApproval Mean SD SEM N21

Stark Conclusions … Firm Orders: Not very consistent in ordering from year-to-year probably due to factors already discussed (new faculty encouraged to build collections in their discipline; new program development; accreditation) Approval Plan If this were a test of the effectiveness of the campus Approval Plan, it seems to be well profiled in that: It replicates firm orders in terms books ordered (no statistical differences) Is cost effective (1/3 the cost of firm orders) Subject coverage matches firm orders (again, no statistical difference) With no statistical difference in usage, it seems to serve the needs of users as well as firm orders (both average 4.5 uses per book)

Questions …

Presenters: Kay Downey, Collection Management Librarian, University Libraries, KSU Rob Kairis, Library Director, Kent State University at Stark,