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Originally Posted by RyanMWilliams
I don't think so. Public libraries tend to support old formats longer than many other places. Libraries that circulated AV clung to music cassettes, LPs, etc. much longer than most people would have thought. They will expand their digital collections but it's going to take time.
On the other hand certain private/academic libraries have already ditched print in favor of digital.
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That's because public entities hafta serve everyone, and they get their money incrementally. A private school has options, for instance. Big fund drive, one large gift, increased tuition and fees, dipping into endowments, etc. Also, they decide they wanna do something, they don't have as many constituencies to serve. They answer to fewer people. Government entities are always more unwieldy, more bureaucratic, more watered-down in efforts. A public library serves rich and poor. They hafta balance access and their spending trickles in, especially in a bad economy. Hello, bottleneck.
The technology is available. How things get done in the public sector has not changed. Money comes slowly, changes in textbooks go through screening processes, etc. Check out computers and other tech equipment in schools. A lot of outdated equipment. It's not because computers aren't affordable or readily available. Schools have a hard time coming up with a big chunk of money all at once, so they upgrade incrementally.