Craigslist, Wikipedia and the Internet Archive are good examples of 3 organizations that deal with gigantic amounts of data and millions of users with very limited staff. There is no reason that such a project would have to turn into something as staff-heavy as OCLC -- though there are certainly strong "library culture" reasons why it might. As far as IT needs, using Amazon EC2 and S3 (and their forthcoming database web service) would completely eliminate the need for data lines and hardware to administer.
>>> Ted Koppel Ted.Koppel_at_EXLIBRISGROUP.COM> 5/24/2007 11:12 AM >> ( mailto:Ted.Koppel_at_EXLIBRISGROUP.COM> )
...
-- finally, there's the issue of sustainability. If this idea takes off, there will be a need for LOTS of hardware and TONS of bandwidth. Hardware needs to be administered. Data lines cost money. All of a sudden there is a need non-profit funding scheme. That means legal stuff and a governing board. That means a bureaucracy. Inexorably that means employees and expenses....and before you know it ... You've recreated RLG or OCLC or something else.
Again, this is an interesting and thought provoking discussion. But in all the blue-skying, keep in mind the very real issues that I have tried to raise.
Ted Koppel
(my opinion, not necessarily my employers)
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Received on Thu May 24 2007 - 13:48:27 EDT