---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 18:02:50 -0500
From: Albert Henderson <NobleStation@COMPUSERVE.COM>
Subject: Serials module to kardex

on Tue, 21 Mar 2000 Peter Picerno <ppicerno@choctaw.astate.edu> wrote:

> It is really interesting to me that someone has finally had the courage to
> question some of the things that we've regarded as unimpeachibly(sp?)
> sacred!! As one who, among other things, has to manage work-flow in
> acquisitions and periodicals, I can see where such a question arises. We
> are in the process of migrating to a new ILS and it was with a
> slowly-dawning sense of horror that I realized that the new system would
> eat up lots more time than our old one did for things like serials
> check-in and ordering new materials. As I've reflected further on this,
> I've also realized that sometimes even simple reference questions can take
> much longer to answer if one goes the electronic route rather than the
> print route. I'm not sure that anyone has made the claim that all of the
> technologies which are part of our lives are more efficient and faster
> than the 'old ways'

[snip]

Economists call this the "Productivity Paradox." Actually, this phenomenon
was called the "cost disease" about 20 years ago. In a study of libraries
computerization and the falling prices of computer systems were expected to
reduce the cost of libraries. Yet the decline of prices has increased the
share of costly labor-intensive activities. (Baumol, William J., and Sue
Anne Batey Blackman. 1983. Electronics, the cost disease, and the operation
of libraries.  Journal of the American Society for Information Science.
34,3:181-191)

Crawford and Gorman describe "the madness of technolust" in FUTURE LIBRARIES
(Chicago" American Library Assn. 1995. Chapter 3)

Albert Henderson
Editor, PUBLISHING RESEARCH QUARTERLY
<70244.1532@compuserve.com>