Metropolitan Library Service Agency

The Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA) of St. Paul, Minnesota, and its member libraries in eight counties will pilot cost-per-circulation as an additional lending model for e-book and eAudiobook purchases for the OverDrive digital library in response to high demand for digital titles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cost-per-circulation licenses within a limited pool of popular titles can facilitate simultaneous borrowing by an unlimited number of users until a budget cap is met, increasing MELSA’s ability to provide equitable access across its broad group of users. MELSA anticipates that this pilot will reduce the percentage of the digital content budget dedicated to purchasing additional copies of high-hold titles and reduce the average wait period for digital titles. They plan to share the pilot results widely at professional conferences to inform the broader industry conversation in search of sustainable and scalable use models.