The problem with small press options is that anything that isn't centralised takes a *huge* amount of time and managements. Due to budget pressures, a lot of library systems now rely on centralised budget and selection methods, or have really limited technology resources, both of which really hamstring independent development.
And .. when it's a call between keeping the physical space (and all that happens there) open a few more hours a week, and exploring ebooks ... I have a hard time blaming my fellow librarians for not going too far down that route.
(I'm working in an academic library these days, so our selection criteria are both pretty specific - a lot of ebooks just don't qualify for other reasons than their format - and they also take much longer for our catalogers to deal with, because anything outside of the university system methods involves all sorts of exceptions.
There are times it's worth doing - but the catalog and acquisitions staff is down nearly two full time positions from what it was a few years ago (used to be 4, is now 2), so there's only so far that can stretch.
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dancing_serpent
Re: Well...
Date: 2012-01-25 02:02 am (UTC)And .. when it's a call between keeping the physical space (and all that happens there) open a few more hours a week, and exploring ebooks ... I have a hard time blaming my fellow librarians for not going too far down that route.
(I'm working in an academic library these days, so our selection criteria are both pretty specific - a lot of ebooks just don't qualify for other reasons than their format - and they also take much longer for our catalogers to deal with, because anything outside of the university system methods involves all sorts of exceptions.
There are times it's worth doing - but the catalog and acquisitions staff is down nearly two full time positions from what it was a few years ago (used to be 4, is now 2), so there's only so far that can stretch.