Just Passing Through

For all academic libraries, collection development and interlibrary loan are fundamental, core activities. For a growing number of libraries, patron-initiated requests for selected materials received through interlibrary loan are passed through to acquisitions for purchase. It is unclear, however, how many of these purchase-on-demand (POD) or buy-don't-borrow programs are currently in place. The authors’ research to quantify the extent of these programs in the Pacific Northwest found that POD programs are not widely used, although larger academic institutions are more likely to adopt them. Budget and workflow concerns are the major reasons for not adopting a POD program. Modeling a program after successful ones may help libraries implement a program.