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INTPLibrarian t1_j7vifrz wrote

Reply to comment by prettypeepers in Please help support our campus libraries! by prettypeepers

It looks like they're not laying off ALL of the librarians, at least. I hope they realize, though, that maintenance and support for those e-books (or other e-resources) is a LOT of work. I won't get into specifics, but basically, that's what I do. There's a ton of behind-the-scenes work that goes on to make these available and working.

They may find that they need to hire MORE librarians for this.

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prettypeepers OP t1_j7vq9fu wrote

Gosh, I can imagine! It's like, how are they planning on getting those E-Books? Will they create an entirely new platform, or are they planning on outsourcing and using a company? In which case, that brings an uncomfortable amount of control over which books we are able to access.

The entire plan is way more costly than how they are currently run, and all in a flawed notion of "progress."

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INTPLibrarian t1_j7wva6b wrote

There will have to be a librarian in charge of ordering them via whatever platform they are available on, then activating them, then managing access, at the very least. It's extremely improbable that they would create their own platform. That's just unfeasible. For e-books, there already is control over what you can access and that will continue. But, it is complicated in a lot of ways.

I haven't (yet) looked at the Vermont schools' current libraries to see what they're using right now. I'm assuming they will continue to use those same vendors and probably add more. It's not really outsourcing in the way that's usually understood, but yes, it does require working with outside vendors.

Hey, if I was having lunch with you, I could go on for hours about e-resources and libraries, but I'll refrain here. LOL.

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prettypeepers OP t1_j7wvhi5 wrote

Haha, I do not mind in the slightest! The information is very helpful and I appreciate you for sharing it.

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