The number of flexible on-demand access models in Marketplace has increased over the years, and new tools make managing Metered Access titles easier than ever. But when it comes to purchasing decisions, how do you know which OverDrive Marketplace access model is the right one for you, your budget, and your community’s needs? 

In fact, because there are so many access models it might be easy to forget all the options available. One that we don’t talk nearly enough about is an old favorite: One Copy / One User or OCOU. Read on to learn why we still love OCOU after all these years. 

3 reasons OCOU is still one of our favorite Marketplace access models  

OCOU is the access model that operates the most like a physical library book

In the digital landscape, OCOU operates the same as a physical book: only one user can access a copy of an OCOU book at a time. If a library wants to provide access to more users, they’ll need to purchase extra copies. But unlike a physical copy, you don’t need to worry about finding space on the library shelves for all the additional copies, or worry about it being stolen or damaged, and digital copies are automatically returned on their due date and ready for the next person on the waitlist!  

OCOU titles never expire (which means they never need to be repurchased!)

OCOU titles are a one and done purchase. Though the model does not allow simultaneous or concurrent use access like some of the other access models, because OCOU titles do not expire from your collection, once you purchase a copy you do not need to budget for it again, unless you want to buy additional copes. 

OCOU is perfect for evergreen titles

Every librarian can name those titles that circulate year after year, from the classics to perpetually popular fiction and nonfiction. Even if a previous New York Times bestseller doesn’t circulate as often as it did at the height of popularity, chances are it is still borrowed regularly. Maybe a reader never got to read it when it first came out and are discovering it for the first time, or they are a bookworm looking to re-read an old favorite, or even trying to complete a reading challenge like the one put out by our own Professional Book Nerds. These are the types of titles that are ideal to buy in the OCOU access model because they’ll always be there when a reader comes looking. 

About the author: Jill Grunenwald is a Marketing & Communications Specialist on the North America Public Library Marketing Team. A former librarian, she joined OverDrive in 2015. Outside of the office she can be found writing, hanging out with her cats, collecting more Tarot decks than she has room for, and playing competitive pinball. Her favorite genre is something she calls “Murder at an educational institution that involves a close-knit group of suspicious characters.”