2013 Charleston Conference

Australian libraries have been early adopters of groundbreaking ebook initiatives for the past 10 years, helping to build and shape some of the innovative models and tools we use today. There has been a significant shift to e-preferred collection policies and ebook acquisition programs, including Demand-driven acquisition (DDA), are generally substantially larger and more established in Australia than North America.

In 2006, Swinburne was the first ever library to load the full EBL catalog into its library OPAC and make all titles available for immediate access using EBL's DDA model. Swinburne expends over 80% of its resources budget on electronic resources and provides access to more ebooks than print books.

Evidence from University of Western Australia shows that DDA is more effective in selecting relevant material for the collection. In 2012, DDA usage indicated 99.59% of titles auto-purchased by DDA saw further use. As a result, UWA is currently implementing an e-preferred strategy across all monographic acquisition processes.

This presentation will present and discuss studies from two institutions that have shaped ebook collections in Australia, and look back at the bold beginnings of Demand-driven Acquisitions and to where Australia is now - where a markedly more established ebook purchasing market exists.