Shared patron driven acquisition of E-books in the California State University Library Consortium

•Overview of two PDA pilots from two vendors, Coutts and EBL.•PDA purchase data identifies high usage subjects.•Expenditure data shows most used publishers.•Outlines local perspective of implementing PDA.•Recommendation for moving forward with a consortial PDA program.

The California State University (CSU) system has a history of consortial purchasing of electronic resources. Its most recent endeavor is consortial Patron Driven Acquisition (PDA) of e-books. Two PDA e-book pilots, funded by the CSU Chancellor's Office, were conducted in 2011 and 2012. The aim of the pilots was to reduce duplication of e-books on CSU campuses, and determine if consortial PDA is appropriate for the CSU. This article provides an overview of CSU's cooperative collection development efforts, results from both pilots, and addresses how a consortial PDA program affects collection development locally on one CSU campus.