2016 Charleston Library Conference

Library patrons make use of many forms of content: journals, ebooks, videos, audio tracks, archival documents, musical scores, etc. Each of these content types is amenable to PDA and the technology certainly exists to deliver each of these content types in PDA. So what stands in the way? We consider the prospects for a future-state of PDA that is multimedia, universal in its publisher/provider inclusion and delivered in an "e-commerce," if you will, environment where the content providers and the library can engage in negotiated agreement on item subscription charges and the trigger to purchase, rather than these being set by the aggregator.

In this panel we will explore three trends propelling us toward this future state and three trends hindering this future state, and will solicit feedback from participants as to other trends we may have missed.

Propelling:
1. Continually tightening library budgets
2. Gradual emergence of affordable, patron-driven models like ReadCube
3. Decreasing demonstrable value of "commodity collections," especially in print and especially in research libraries, moving us towards digitization of rare and unique collections for consumption on demand

Hindering:
1. The emergence of a standard for a platform
2. Flexible terms on triggers and prices
3. Strong cultur of "institutional ownership" and collection building in libraries