Approvals, Slips, and DDA! Oh My! The Yellow Brick Road to Collaborative Approval and DDA Profiling

In the last several years, approval profiling has changed significantly and grown increasingly complex, particularly due to the prevalent shift toward collecting in electronic formats. While approval profiles have been predominantly e-preferred for some time, the growth of demand-driven acquisition (DDA) has led to new license models, modes of acquisition, and tighter integration of DDA with approvals. With the advent of the DDA-preferred approval plan came options for the inclusion of multiple e-book platforms as well as complexities involving publisher embargoes. Additionally, the numerous approval and DDA profile parameters, workflow options, and administrator settings vary widely, resulting in a seemingly endless array of possibilities that can affect how titles are ultimately profiled. The task of creating a new profile or preparing profile reviews can be overwhelming, especially for those new to profiling or trying a new vendor. However, it can and should be a collaborative experience with vendors that leads to more than just great profiles. While library staff should strive to learn how to make the most of what a vendor offers, vendors should inquire about the library’s collection development strategies, issues, and needs. Vendors can also share current trends and offer advice modeled on how other libraries handle similar issues, as well as gather feedback for potential development. This paper supplies tips that will help library staff who are preparing to create or review approval or DDA profiles or to profile with new vendors, to be better prepared in order to maximize their time profiling with vendors.