Many libraries, large and small, are experimenting with patron-driven acquisitions (PDA) of e-books. Although numerous journal articles have been published recently on this topic, this is the first book devoted to PDA that I have seen. Edited by David Swords, vice president of sales and marketing for Ebook Library (EBL), Patron-Driven Acquisitions does have a slant toward EBL’s service model, but do not let this prevent you from reading it. Swords has assembled an impressive cast of contributors, including Rick Lugg, Bob Nardini, Michael Levine-Clark, Kari Paulson, Rex Steiner, Ron Berry, Tom Corbett, Sue Polanka, Emilie Delquie, Doug Way, Julie Garrison, and Dennis Dillon. Swords also contributes two chapters to the volume.

The chapters, though logically organized, at times read like a set of essays rather than a cohesive monograph; this is no doubt due to the plethora of contributors. The book has three main sections—“Background and Reasons,” “PDA in the World,” and “Modeling PDA”—and concludes with a philosophical chapter by Dillon on current and future trends. The book is thought-provoking and provides a lot of practical information for libraries considering PDA. If your library has not yet delved into demand-driven acquisitions, the chapters by Dillon and Lugg will convince you that you cannot afford not to try it. If you are a publisher, Swords’s chapter, “PDA and Publishers,” will convince you to offer it as a service.

In the first chapter, “Collecting for the Moment: Patron-Driven Acquisitions as a Disruptive Technology,” Lugg discusses the rise of the web and users’ preference for digital resources. The popularity of digital resources changes what libraries and librarians do, especially regarding collection management. Although Lugg states PDA “eliminates the temptation and the need to buy speculatively” (11), he explains that librarian expertise remains an important element of PDA programs. This opening chapter provides a strong introduction to PDA and lays a foundation for the book. The next chapter, Nardini’s “Approval Plans and Patron Selection: Two Infrastructures,” discusses the continued usefulness of approval plans, a chapter that seems off-topic for the book. The final contribution in this section, authored by Levine-Clark, describes the University of Denver’s experiences with a variety of PDA models.

The second section starts with a chapter by Paulson who recounts EBL’s early partnerships with libraries and the process of persuading publishers to make their books available electronically. The chapter also describes the various PDA models trialed, such as renting, buying, and short-term loans. Two subsequent chapters describe unique PDA experiences that likely will not apply to many libraries, but are nonetheless interesting. Steiner and Berry’s chapter describes building library collections from scratch in Abu Dhabi and Azerbaijan, and how useful PDA would have been had it been available at the time. The authors state how PDA “gives the international librarian the ability to gain access to huge numbers of electronic resources at minimal economic risk” (92). Although Corbett’s chapter, which recounts the PDA experience in a private boarding school, may not be applicable to most school libraries, the author makes the very relevant point that there is a need for more appropriate e-book content for high school students. In the final chapter in this section, “PDA and Publishers,” Swords begins by apologizing for not being able to find a publisher willing to write the chapter. In its stead, he constructs the chapter around a conversation he had with Mike Shatzkin, a consultant and owner of the Idea Logical Company. Swords states early on that the “main audience for this chapter is publishers, at best those who so far have rejected, discounted, or feared PDA” (107). Despite the downside of not having a publisher author this chapter, I found it especially interesting and enlightening from my librarian perspective. Although PDA is scary for publishers because of its unpredictable nature, Swords lays out many benefits, including increased book citations and revenue. He also spells out the danger for publishers who fail to participate in PDA programs.

The final section provides a solid foundation on which to understand, implement, and manage a PDA program, financially and otherwise. Polanka and Delquie’s “Patron-Driven

Business Models: History, Today’s Landscape, and Opportunities” examines the evolution of PDA models, and offer detailed descriptions of aggregator and publisher platforms. They provide a useful comparison chart that outlines the benefits and challenges of the various models. The subsequent chapter, written by Way and Garrison, addresses implications of PDA, examines the value of short-term loans, and includes a very thorough literature review. Dillon’s chapter discusses how to control costs in a large-scale PDA program. Swords’s “Elements of a Demand-Driven Model,” which completes the section, addresses “how PDA thinking is different from past thinking, what does a PDA system require to be workable, and how do you budget for it” (169). At times the text in this chapter is dense, especially when Swords writes about building and budgeting for a PDA program. The upside, however, is that Swords’s advice can be used to predict spending within a few percentage points, which removes much of the financial risk inherent to PDA.

With vision and candor, Dillon concludes the book arguing that PDA could facilitate libraries’ relevance in a consumer-driven environment by allowing librarians to become professional content managers. Freed from making title-by-title decisions, librarians can instead use their expertise to improve “access, discovery, and the library’s relevancy” (192). Dillon goes on to state that PDA should be regarded as a new tool for librarians rather than a threat, since “individual readers know what is in their own interest better than librarians do” (193).

This book will appeal to a broad array of publishers and librarians, no matter where one is along the PDA spectrum. Library and information science programs, in particular, will find value in this book, which Swords ties together well. Despite the EBL slant, this monograph is an excellent addition to the literature on patron-driven acquisitions and, fittingly, is available via PDA.