UDA (Use Driven Acquisitions)

UDA Plans

The University of Florida Libraries provide instant access to thousands of e-books through various electronic UDA plans. Our print book UDA plans allow patrons to help build the libraries collections through mediated requests using customized forms in our library catalog (Primo).

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters / Free to use under the Unsplash License

UDA Definitions and Descriptions

AbbreviationMeaningDefinition
UDAUse-Driven AcquisitionThis is the blanket term used for the multiple collection building plans where users play a direct role in developing library content.
DDA/PDADemand-Driven AcquisitionThe main mechanism for these plans are based on certain parameters, or triggers being met, which result in automatic or mediated purchase requests.

EBAEvidence-Based AcquisitionThese plans are considered a great value to libraries and provide access to a large amount of content. Quick view process of EBA plans: Content and deposit negotiation, run plan for a predetermined lifecycle, and at end of lifecycle, usage is reviewed. The initial deposit is used to purchase perpetual licenses for titles with the highest usage.
BoDBooks on DemandThis user driven plan is mediated by the Access and Resource Sharing Department. Patrons submit requests through the ILLiad platform.

Harrassowitz Print DDA


Discoverable print records are loaded into our library catalog (Primo) for a tailored collection covering musical scores, books on music, and European Studies titles. Patrons submit a purchase request from an embedded form. The titles are ordered from the vendor’s website, and rush processed upon arrival, and the patron is notified.

Taylor & Francis E-book EBA

An all-inclusive plan covering the full Taylor & Francis ebook catalog. Includes titles published since the early 1900s, covering a wide range of subjects and disciplines including humanities, social science, behavioral science, even natural science as well as technology and medicine. The revised plan (previously only STEM focused) implemented January 2023; 31 million dollars’ worth of content is now available with unlimited-user access. At the end of an EBA cycle, perpetual licenses are purchased using a negotiated deposit, based on usage (smart selections) and incorporating direct interest from selectors (manual pinning).

Cambridge E-book EBA


This Humanities and Social Science focused plan is based on the EBA model. Content is accessible to UF patrons with unlimited-user access. At the end of an EBA cycle, purchases are made in bulk for the most used titles based on a minimum spend limit set by the Cambridge.

Kanopy Smart PDA

This subscription based streaming video PDA is made up of curated list of titles, including titles most frequently used by our faculty for their courses.

Requests for titles not in the curated list are mediated. The request is reviewed to see if it fits the parameters to be added to the PDA. Streaming video titles available elsewhere are excluded from the PDA.

This model allows for seamless access to some of the most popular Kanopy titles while controlling costs.

Books on Demand


Encouraged by the content and speed of acquisitions, an annual fund was created in 2007 and the program is still going strong. Currently Books on Demand is coordinated by a team of employees from both Access and Resource Sharing and Acquisitions Departments.

Course Reserves


Course Reserves materials include print books, textbooks, e-books, journal articles, slide decks, DVDs, streaming videos, and more. Materials are placed on reserve at the request of the instructor, and all reserve items must comply with copyright law and e-resource licensing. New material purchases are coordinated by a team of employees from both Access and Resource Sharing and Acquisitions departments.