[Publib] Re: LibraryThing and other "free" stuff

[Joe Schallan]

The estimable Sara Weissman wrote:

"Ah, but we're not spending your tax dollars. The service is free and 
loading the titles in is so much faster than earlier formats that we are 
actually saving a fair bit of money doing this." 
    That is the great thing about most 2.0 innovation ..unlike other 
initiatives I've seen in my 30+ years in this game. Most of them are 
free, until/unless you want enlarge/expand your account (and we have, 
with both Flickr and LibraryThing). 


I have a bit of a quibble with this (and guilt about
quibbling, too, since Sara is an Exceptional
Librarian and a Most Excellent Human Being).

Unless a librarian is carrying forth an activity
on her own time, in her home office, using her
own electricity and air conditioning, taking
advantage of a "free" service is never truly
free.  An MLS librarian in a city library is making
anywhere from $18 to upwards of $30 per hour,
and her time is always a part of the cost of
anything she does.

Librarians eagerly latch on to multiplying
what they do, making almost a hobby, in my
experience, of overcommitting themselves,
and neither they nor their managers always
take into account the value of their time.

YMMV -- your mileage may vary -- of course.

Joe Schallan
Phoenix