I meant to include this link. These people have an interesting idea that will be important for libraries and scholars. The machine costs about $150,000 but it is still interesting considering the cost of storage.

G

http://www.ondemandbooks.com/home.htm

...Original Post...

I have been reading lots about the future of scholarship, publishing and formats and ultimately libraries lately. Here are two examples.

http://www.ithaka.org/ithaka-s-r/strategy/university-publishing

http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2010/chapters/electronic-books/

I think that most librarians and academics are in denial. Having recently gone through a planning exercise to build a new facility I am amazed that we are still building new facilities to hold the same books that UVA/VCU/W&M/VA Tec/JMU etc...all own. The vast majority of these redundant collections are never used. I think that the model of everyone buying the same books will be changing. Perhaps if become more usable the print can be stored in collaborative dense off-site storage facilities as long as their is a robust delivery system that mirrors the commercial options available through Amazon etc. I know if I were a state legislator the prospect of adding new libraries (and staff) at the various institutions to house the same collections (that aren't really used) would not be a cause I would be excited about leading...Good thing I have that experience as a butcher.---Hate to be so negative but ultimately I worry about the future of research when I see undergrads that are so impatient that they will not use a print reference source in order to start their work. The scale of people that I see that behave this way suggests that perhaps their work acceptable to the faculty therefore maybe we don't need the library in the same way that it was needed a few years ago...

Comments

[Rwany Sibaja]

Very interesting. I do think you're right that ultimately budget cuts at the state levels might actually wind up creating a more efficient system...but that's under the assumption that the decisions in state legislatures will contain valuable input from librarians and other specialists. Sadly (at least in public education), the suggestions/recommendations of the experts in the field is usually the starting point. By the time the process goes through dozens of committees and hearings, the initial recommendations are...

butchered.