Won't some of the big commercial digitization projects deliver
this future? They are part of it, but if we go no further, we
may have an expanded bookstore, or a single means of organizing
the materials, but we may not be building on the open tradition
of a library: a place where librarians help organize and present
materials, where patrons can draw from and add to the holdings,
where the right to private study is upheld, and where physical
facilities offer a meeting place and environment for learning.

We have been asked if authors and publishers will play a role
in this vision. The answer is a resounding yes. Publishers and
authors create the works in our libraries. In the United States,
we spend twelve billion dollars a year on our library system,
of which three to four billion go to publishers. We are not
suggesting we spend less, but rather that we spend it better.
With such a public commitment to a free flow of information,
we can build a great library leveraging these new technologies.

So why an Open Library? Because we can combine the best
that the library system and publishing industry offer to build
towards universal access to all knowledge.

This book describes a vision of an Open Library and how we are
building it. Many of us are coming together precisely because of
the potential of such a project. Together we'll build a great library.

[[9]]

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