Boom or Bust: Short-Term Loans Five Years Later

The University of Kansas (KU) Libraries began a demand-driven acquisition program for e-books in late 2011, which included short-term loans (STLs). At that time, STLs cost 5 to 10% of a book’s list price, with libraries paying no more than 130% when actually purchasing an e-book. The literature from the early years praises the new purchasing model as cost effective, often saving libraries thousands of dollars annually. However, in 2014, the cost of STLs began to increase, with a handful of publishers charging as high as 30 to 35% per loan. In FY14, the KU Libraries saw a sudden 122% increase in the cost of their STLs and a 277% increase in the overall cost of their ebook purchases. Alarmed by this sudden increase, KU librarians began looking for solutions to save money, including lowering the number of loans from three to two before triggering a purchase. Unfortunately, STL costs at KU continued to rise the following year by 32%. STLs were no longer working as a cost-saving measure, and publisher pricing for STLs has continued to rise, some to as much as 40 to 50% of the cost of a book.