You might also need to factor in an extra server or three (in the cloud or otherwise) into that equation, given that we're talking 100s of millions of records that will need to be indexed.

> companies like iii and Ex Libris are the only ones with
> enough clout to negotiate access

I don't think III is doing any kind of aggregated indexing, hence their decision to try and leverage APIs.  I could be wrong.

--Dave

==================
David Walker
Library Web Services Manager
California State University
http://xerxes.calstate.edu
________________________________________
From: Code for Libraries [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jonathan Rochkind [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 1:15 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] DIY aggregate index

Cory Rockliff wrote:
> Do libraries opt for these commercial 'pre-indexed' services simply
> because they're a good value proposition compared to all the work of
> indexing multiple resources from multiple vendors into one local index,
> or is it that companies like iii and Ex Libris are the only ones with
> enough clout to negotiate access to otherwise-unavailable database
> vendors' content?
>
A little bit of both, I think. A library probably _could_ negotiate
access to that content... but it would be a heck of a lot of work. When
the staff time to negotiations come in, it becomes a good value
proposition, regardless of how much the licensing would cost you.  And
yeah, then the staff time to actually ingest and normalize and
troubleshoot data-flows for all that stuff on the regular basis -- I've
heard stories of libraries that tried to do that in the early 90s and it
was nightmarish.

So, actually, I guess i've arrived at convincing myself it's mostly
"good value proposition", in that a library probably can't afford to do
that on their own, with or without licensing issues.

But I'd really love to see you try anyway, maybe I'm wrong. :)

> Can I assume that if a database vendor has exposed their content to me
> as a subscriber, whether via z39.50 or a web service or whatever, that
> I'm free to cache and index all that metadata locally if I so choose? Is
> this something to be negotiated on a vendor-by-vendor basis, or is it an
> impossibility?
>
I doubt you can assume that.  I don't think it's an impossibility.

Jonathan