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# How much is that book in the window ...
- URL: https://www.lorcandempsey.net/how-much-is-that-book-in-the-window/
- Published: 2006-04-18T23:38:05.000Z
- Updated: 2020-10-28T20:56:07.000Z
- Author: Lorcan Dempsey
- Tags: Books, Collections, Institutions, Systems

Jack Ammerman has an interesting point in relation to my entry about what ‘owning’ a book might actually mean ([Sharable and licensable](https://blog.oclc.org/lorcand/archives/000995.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net)). I note that given the restrictions on what one can do with the intellectual content of a book which is still in copyright that the gap between our **putatively owned** materials and our **licensed** materials may be smaller than we are used to thinking about.

> His point is well-taken. I especially appreciate his inclusion of the ongoing cost of storing and preserving the item. What he’s describing may be more akin to a “lease-to-own” plan. If the library (or individual that purchases the book) keeps a book long enough, the rights of ownership do eventually include the right to copy, digitize, etc. The work eventually moves into the public domain. But the cost is quite high. \[[TheoLib » Blog Archive » Sharable and licensable: cost models for collection development](https://digilib.bu.edu/blogs/theolib/?p=365&ref=lorcandempsey.net)\]

He then goes on to discuss the actual use costs of little-used collections, contrasting just-in-time to just-in-case collection strategies. Interestingly, he notes that it costs him $50 to retrieve an item from, and return it to, off-site storage. These remarks relate to my long tail discussion in these pages, [libraries, logistics and the long tail](https://blog.oclc.org/lorcand/archives/000949.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net), an [adapted version](https://www.dlib.org/dlib/april06/dempsey/04dempsey.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net) of which has just been published in D-Lib Magazine. The costs, and more importantly, the opportunity costs, of managing just-in-case print collections will increasingly play a role in library resource discussions.  
Related entries:

- [Sharable and licensable](https://blog.oclc.org/lorcand/archives/000995.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net)
- [Libraries, logistics and the long tail](https://blog.oclc.org/lorcand/archives/000949.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net)
- [Storage and logistics](https://blog.oclc.org/lorcand/archives/000864.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net)
- [The collective collection](https://blog.oclc.org/lorcand/archives/000741.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net)
- [Groningen thoughts](https://blog.oclc.org/lorcand/archives/000726.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net)