I am already familiar with hardware – the physical parts of a computer, and software – the programs on a computer. I did not know that the term software also encompasses film, tapes, and records when associated w/computers, as Wikipedia suggests. It is also interesting to note that “elements of computing first considered to be software, [now] join the ranks of hardware,” and that computers did not used to come with pre-installed software. It seems like now computers come with a ton of pre-installed software, and you can also download software from the web for free with a few clicks of a mouse.
I understand the skepticism with allowing a private (huge) company like Google take over the digitization of hundreds of thousands of historical materials. As the Stephen Bury, head of European and American collections at the British national library was quoted in the article, “the commercial companies are obviously in it either for shareholder profit or doing it to get a public feel-good factor.” These companies don’t necessarily have the best interests of the public in mind, and they aren’t dedicated to providing a balance in materials (ie – what is considered important in terms of context and perspective may not be the things that will make money). But they have the dinero.
While in some ways this is an unfortunate situation, this article points out the benefits of being realistic about digitization, and negotiating partnerships. Google is a brilliant beast of sorts, but I am sure that libraries and other organizations who take them time to talk with them about business models and digitization efforts are doing two things: slowly pulling Google out of the tunnel, and inheriting some smart ideas about budgeting. The perk to having two institutions on opposite ends of a spectrum – one who saw an opportunity to capitalize on digitization, and one who saw an opportunity to preserve the world’s knowledge store – is that they will (hopefully) even each other out, and find balance.
It pleased me to read that most organizations mentioned in the article are not accepting “conditional” money from Google or other private companies. They are forming partnerships, sharing ideas, and rearranging models accordingly. I think libraries have to acknowledge the power of companies like Google, and sometimes (while not ideal), it is better to join them than to be defeated by them.
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