re: If electronic is to replace paper

[Rick Anderson <rick_anderson@uncg.edu>]

> Preservation is both difficult and expensive.  It therefore makes no
> economic sense for libraries to undertake it individually. 

I'm concerned by Sally's "therefore."  Libraries have always engaged in
difficult and expensive work, including preservation.  The fact that
preservation of electronic information is and probably always will be both
difficult and expensive does not, in itself, mean that libraries are unfit
for the task either individually or collectively.  Most publishers, I'm
pretty certain, are no better funded than most libraries.

> Contined access is a matter of licensing.  

Actually, it's a matter of both licensing AND preservation.  There's no
point negotiating license terms for continued access if that access hasn't
been made physically (er... metaphysically?) possible.  No preservation,
no access.

----------------------
Rick Anderson
Head Acquisitions Librarian
Jackson Library
UNC Greensboro
1000 Spring Garden St.
Greensboro, NC 27402-6175
PH (336) 334-5281
FX (336) 334-5399
rick_anderson@uncg.edu
http://www.uncg.edu/~r_anders

"Freudian apologists welcome his
objections as the Undead welcome
nightfall."
-- Frank Cioffi (on Adolf Grunbaum)