I agree with everything you said, so I'm just adding some thoughts. I'm trying to do historical research at my own expense and, like many others, will continue

I agree with everything you said, so I'm just adding some thoughts. I'm trying to do historical research at my own expense and, like many others, will continue to do so as long as I can get access to raw data. Google will provide much of the data for free, and I (and MANY others) will do the analysis for free. It's another "open source" vs "commercial" situation. No one is required to give me expensive stuff for free, BUT if OTHERS are willing to pay the costs to scan, host, and provide it to everyone for free, but the "protectors of our precious heritage" won't allow it, it's no longer about the love of history but more like a repetition of history: we've got the power, so pay us for our, uh, "services". As for scanning costs, though, Google is already scanning and hosting many of these materials for free and are being actively prevented from doing more (and even showing what they've already scanned), so I suspect we aren't far from having all we need for a 21st Century equivalent of a Carnegie Foundation. If Andrew Carnegie could build public libraries around the world, the robber barons of our century could fund an online Library of Alexandria to serve as a central repository. They could then offer to museums, private collectors, etc., to do the scanning and hosting and maybe even some ad sponsorship or donation mechanism to provide a small income stream back to the owners of the originals.