Comments on: Pricing content http://rc3.org/2010/02/03/pricing-content/ Rafe Colburn on software development (and other topics) Wed, 23 May 2012 22:44:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: jessamyn http://rc3.org/2010/02/03/pricing-content/comment-page-1/#comment-7909 jessamyn Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:42:30 +0000 http://rc3.org/?p=10738#comment-7909 <p>This is the huge dilemma facing libraries at the moment. We loosely define our patron/funding base in terms of geopolitical regions [towns where I live, but states and nations too] and our information easily crosses those boundaries. We pay our vendors according to those outlines and yet we can easily email or fax or postal-mail a document to anywhere in the world.</p> <p>One of the databases that I use regularly -- one the state of Vermont pays for so that all VT libraries can use -- now has MP3s of many of their articles available for download. I, of course, downloaded audio copies of all the articles I'd written. I'd love to put them online. I'm fairly certain I can't... but not totally sure why.</p> <p>Generally speaking all librarians use this "back-channel ILL" feature and share content with each other, but it's trickier providing our patrons with access to this wealth of content. But making arbitrary divisions of who gets it and who doesn't get it just seems ... arbitrary. And vendors are scared but haven't come up with a more decent and rational pricing scheme encouraging [to me] more end running in order to solve problems. Tricky times. Glad you liked the post.</p> This is the huge dilemma facing libraries at the moment. We loosely define our patron/funding base in terms of geopolitical regions [towns where I live, but states and nations too] and our information easily crosses those boundaries. We pay our vendors according to those outlines and yet we can easily email or fax or postal-mail a document to anywhere in the world.

One of the databases that I use regularly — one the state of Vermont pays for so that all VT libraries can use — now has MP3s of many of their articles available for download. I, of course, downloaded audio copies of all the articles I’d written. I’d love to put them online. I’m fairly certain I can’t… but not totally sure why.

Generally speaking all librarians use this “back-channel ILL” feature and share content with each other, but it’s trickier providing our patrons with access to this wealth of content. But making arbitrary divisions of who gets it and who doesn’t get it just seems … arbitrary. And vendors are scared but haven’t come up with a more decent and rational pricing scheme encouraging [to me] more end running in order to solve problems. Tricky times. Glad you liked the post.

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