economics of internet access, and "appropriateness"

[Mark Wilden]

> From: Burt, David <DBurt at ci.oswego.or.us>
> the librarian who says "the
> only reason we don't carry Hustler is because we can't afford it" *has
> already conceded that they ration scarce resources based on content*!

Absolutely. No one is questioning that.

> Therefore, it is logically and ethically consistent to do the same thing
> with the Internet.

But that's where you lose me. A librarian _must_ ration book purchases. This is a physical
requirement. A librarian is not required to ration Net access based on content.

> Another point is this: No, libraries do not have enough money to buy
> everything but they certainly do have the money to buy *a sample of
> everything*.

Maybe your library...

> it is
> because it is so far near the bottom of librarian's "appropriateness
> scale" that they don't buy it at all.

I think that's absolutely true. However, if it's not physically necessary to judge
"appropriateness" (as it is with physical resources), then you have to prove that such a scale
needs to be applied to Web sites.