Systemwide DDA Pilot Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How many UC campuses are participating in the pilot?

Nine, all except UC San Francisco.

What books are included?

The pilot includes ebooks published by approximately 65 university press publishers over 5 years, 2010-2014. Subjects included are arts, humanities, and social sciences; LC classes are A-L, ML, P, TX, U, Z. Popular and consumer titles as well as reprints are included. Textbooks are excluded. The price cap per title is $250 per single copy.

Do UC libraries hold print copies of ebooks included in the pilot?

The pilot includes backfile titles (2010-2013) that have been purchased in print by two or fewer campuses.

What is the ebook platform for the pilot?

The platform is ebrary, in conjunction with YBP for consortial management of acquisitions via GOBI.

How does the pilot work?

Ebooks in the pilot may be accessed through records in the local opacs and Melvyl. Users may trigger up to 3 short-term loans for a single title. After that, a fourth use of the same book triggers a consortial purchase. Once purchased, a book is available to up to 3 users at a time from the 9 participating campuses.

How is the ebook consortial purchase price determined?

The purchase price is set by the publisher, with no markup by ebrary; for consortial purchase the price is multiplied by 3 or 4 as determined by the publisher.

How many books will be purchased during the pilot?

The estimate is 600 books.

Can a book purchased through the pilot be used for ILL?

Not the fulltext. Only a chapter, or up to 60 pages, may be ILL’d.

Are there other restrictions on purchased books?

There are a number of restrictions (DRM) on purchased books:

Full title downloads (7-day checkout) only through IOS or Android app or Adobe Digital Editions; requires setting up a personal account. The 7-day checkout must be activated in the campus admin module (this is a local decision; default is OFF). The DDA taskforce will monitor whether this should be changed on a consortial level.
During full title download, book is restricted to one user for 7 days
60 page total printing/PDF downloading/copying permitted per user session (no login required)
Download chapters or up to 60 pages in standard, non-DRM PDF format (login to account required)
Several publishers prohibit full title downloads.

Can I browse a title without triggering a short-term loan?

Yes, you can browse for up to 10 minutes or 10 unique page turns in a single browser session without triggering a short-term loan. This does not apply to the front/back matter (first or last 5% of the book), which may be browsed on an unlimited basis.

What triggers a short-term loan?

Printing, copying, or downloading one page (or portion of a page)
Viewing a single title online for more than 10 minutes or more than 10 unique page turns other than the front/back matter (first/last 5% of the book)
Copying one word from a book and pasting it into the ebrary searchbox
Downloading one chapter (or portion of a chapter)

How long does a short-term loan last?

24 hours. No other short-term loans for that book can be triggered during the 24-hour period.

Who can use an ebook for which a short-term loan has been triggered?

During a short-term loan a book is available to a single user at a time from any of the participating UC campuses.

Can I download the fulltext of a book while it is on short-term loan?

No. A fulltext download is available only after a book has been purchased.

Can I download, print, or copy a portion of a book during a short-term loan?

Yes. During a short-term loan you may print, PDF download, or copy up to 60 pages per user session, with no login required. You may also download a chapter or up to 60 pages in standard, non-DRM PDF format (login required).

What happens at the end of the 24-hour short-term loan period?

The book again becomes available for another user to trigger a short-term loan.

What is the cost of a short-term loan?

This varies by publisher, but the average is 10-15% of the purchase price of the ebook. The short-term loan cost is not deducted from the purchase price.

How will campus staff identify the books available in the DDA pool?

In YBP’s Gobi individual title records may indicate DDA activity in the GobiTween view, listing a “DDA Record Sent” for University of California Libraries at the top of the GobiTween record. Purchased titles will display here as well. Note that there may be discrepancies between YBP and presence in local OPACs due to SCP workflows.

Records delivered to campuses by SCP will have the following phrases in the 793 field, which should display in the OPAC and the back-end ILS:

Unpurchased title records: YBP/Ebrary DDA pilot online monographs
Purchased title records: YBP/Ebrary online monographs

Your campus DDA task force member has access to the consortial Gobi account and is able to provide lists of DDA titles, as well as a copy of the DDA Profile.

How long will the pilot run?

This will be determined at the end of the first year (December 2014) when an assessment report is available for review.