On the right track Snip from Reinventing the Book: Libraries will be able to print and bind works that are in the public domain in-house in less than five minutes. The system can also rebind existing books with new covers at costs ranging from 28 cents to a dollar, less than a one-quarter of the cost to libraries of sending books out. Library technical services departments will come to resemble a Kinko's. Distribution will be on demand. No longer might there be too few copies of popular works. No longer will libraries need to maintain an inventory of unpopular tomes gathering dust on miles of shelving. Libraries will be able to greatly reduce costs (now about $35 per volume) by cutting back on the cataloging and processing of books for their own permanent collections. What if you're the only library patron in this hemisphere wanting a particular volume? No problem, at a dollar or so per copy, your library can afford to print it for you. The price to you might be what you'd expect to pay for an overdue fine.
Read more: Powis Parker, Inc. | San Francisco Chronicle, Nov 12, 2003 | NPR Morning Edition, Jan. 12, 2004 (audio) [RSS in Government]
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