Over the next several years the ULS will transition to a Just in Time Collection Development model. Whereby, instead of having significant resources allocated to multi-year journal subscriptions the ULS will move towards a journal a-la-carte model that allows greater flexibility with the materials budget without sacrificing much needed access to research resources. This model will provide the ULS with greater flexibility to align its material budget to meet current research needs of our users and to invest in future research trends.

Just in Time is a model built on the Patron Driven Acquisitions (PDA) or Data Driven Acquisitions (DDA) approaches that responds to the actual resource needs of users. The Just in Case model acquires resources on the premise they will eventually be used by patrons.

Just-in-time: Redefining Your Collection Development Philosophy

Presentation given at the Texas Library Association (TLA) Annual Conference in April 2015. The presentation centers on the University of North Texas Libraries, highlighting their issues in collection development, and steps that were taken to combat those issues. This presentation also displays information on UNT Libraries' "ABCD" Philosophy or Access-Based Collection Development Philosophy. Additionally, the implementation of a new plan, the evaluation of the plan, the challenges, and benefits are all outlined.

Keeping up with...Patron Driven Acquisitions

At times a subjective practice, academic collection development relies on the professional knowledge of librarians to select material tailored to course curriculums and the anticipated demands of library users. Favoring a broad approach, libraries often apply a “just-in-case” collection model. Purchasing in excess, libraries acquire books for the potential they might someday offer. This collection model serves libraries well by assuring an exhaustive diversity of material is always available and functions as a superficial determinant of a libraries worth based on the amount of material collected. Ostensibly, the just-in-case model failed due to unsustainable increases to costs and reduced acquisitions budgets, but more importantly a variety of factors including technological advances, the advocating of data curation, and the proliferation of e-books revealed the just-in-case model as an ineffective approach to acquisition.