4 ms·

Today, a library fits on a hard drive.

greglindahl 9y ago
It costs money to scan books. Even after you do so, you don't want to pulp all of them. Hilariously, the LOCKSS project is also at the RWC location.
gh02t 9y ago
Yes, but university libraries also do a whole lot more than just manage books. The library at the University I work for has computer labs, GIS labs, a makerspace, 3D printing, electronics fabrication, photography and video studios, plus a hundred other things. All of those take staff.
- DoofusOfDeath 9y ago
  FWIW, that's not what most people mean by the term "library".
  - gh02t 9y ago
    It is in the context of university libraries. Nowadays these sorts of services are common at bigger schools, and they are managed by the library. Libraries at universities have always offered more than just buildings full of books. My point is that there is a lot more to managing a serious library than just cataloging books. Trained librarians especially do a lot to directly contribute to research by connecting researchers with the right sources of information.
  - FullMtlAlcoholc 9y ago
    This is exactly what is meant by the term library at a decent research university.
KGIII 9y ago
And paper has demonstrated great archival traits, where digital has no such thing.
FullMtlAlcoholc 9y ago
That data didn't just magically migrate to a hard drive. Librarians are often leading and coordinating the digitization of archives One of the biggest problems facing the biological sciences (and scientific research in general) is an exponential rise in the amount of data being generated, but an inability to catalogue and store the information, much less understand it. Modern librarians are inter-disciplinary problem solvers, often embedded in with faculty and researchers, responsible for indexing and archiving a rapidly increasing amount of information. Plus, books books have thus far proven to be a more durable storage medium than all digital options in current usage. Without them, a solar flare or nuclear war could cause the modern equivalent of the burning of the Library of Alexandria
UncleMeat 9y ago
I think you clearly have not been to a research university library. There is a huge amount of old stuff that is not digitized and has important content that cannot be digitized.

It costs money to scan books. Even after you do so, you don't want to pulp all of them. Hilariously, the LOCKSS project is also at the RWC location.

gh02t 9y ago

Yes, but university libraries also do a whole lot more than just manage books. The library at the University I work for has computer labs, GIS labs, a makerspace, 3D printing, electronics fabrication, photography and video studios, plus a hundred other things. All of those take staff.

DoofusOfDeath 9y ago
FWIW, that's not what most people mean by the term "library".
- gh02t 9y ago
  It is in the context of university libraries. Nowadays these sorts of services are common at bigger schools, and they are managed by the library. Libraries at universities have always offered more than just buildings full of books. My point is that there is a lot more to managing a serious library than just cataloging books. Trained librarians especially do a lot to directly contribute to research by connecting researchers with the right sources of information.
- FullMtlAlcoholc 9y ago
  This is exactly what is meant by the term library at a decent research university.

KGIII 9y ago

And paper has demonstrated great archival traits, where digital has no such thing.

FullMtlAlcoholc 9y ago

That data didn't just magically migrate to a hard drive. Librarians are often leading and coordinating the digitization of archives One of the biggest problems facing the biological sciences (and scientific research in general) is an exponential rise in the amount of data being generated, but an inability to catalogue and store the information, much less understand it. Modern librarians are inter-disciplinary problem solvers, often embedded in with faculty and researchers, responsible for indexing and archiving a rapidly increasing amount of information. Plus, books books have thus far proven to be a more durable storage medium than all digital options in current usage. Without them, a solar flare or nuclear war could cause the modern equivalent of the burning of the Library of Alexandria

UncleMeat 9y ago

I think you clearly have not been to a research university library. There is a huge amount of old stuff that is not digitized and has important content that cannot be digitized.