[Web4lib] Facebook (& Second Life)

[Brian Gray]

I think the better libraries have invested in the future. But remember to
invest in a new process or tool something always get cut. Libraries are
limited in their income streams so to cut now for the future does not always
look good in the eyes of our users. It is a balancing act as most library
budgets have been shrinking for years.

Brian Gray
mindspiral at gmail.com
bcg8 at case.edu


On Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 3:29 PM, Tim Spalding <tim at librarything.com> wrote:

> > Time is money in libraries when staff numbers are already streamlined.
>
> Obviously this is true. But in another way, it may turn out to be
> wrong. That is, libraries aren't sausage factories—put in a certain
> input and get a certain output—but more like investments. Libraries
> have been "underinvesting" in the future for quite a while now—in
> money, certainly, but also in commitment, willingness to change and so
> forth. These "savings" will end up costing libraries long term.
>
> The most obvious example is scanning. Google has created something
> like a monopoly. It was and is surely expensive to do. But you can
> guestimate that, if libraries across the US had set aside maybe 2% of
> their budgets, they could have done it themselves, and be in control
> of the future, not a potential victim of it.
>
> So, pay your programmers. Tomorrow they'll be justifying your existence! ;)
>
> Best,
> Tim
>