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A legitimate question to ponder is why the “imposition from above” model was successful in the context of the Internet, but not in DLs. A look at the history on the Internet reveals a key factor that initial deployment and ramp-up occurred within a tightly scoped community, academic institutions and (primarily defense-related) research labs. The infrastructure had a long percolation period in this context before its subsequent mass popularization. This is quite different than the DL infrastructure work, which from the beginning was motivated by visions of widespread grassroots dissemination inspired by scenarios such as that articulated by then Vice President Gore in his “schoolchild in Carthage, Tennessee plugs into the Library of Congress” speeches ( (External Link) ). Page 3, footnote 5 of Lagoze, Lost Identity: The Assimilation of Digital Libraries into the Web .

Organizations that run, like governments

When we look closely at civic infrastructure, we see that the physical infrastructure and service infrastructure are dependent on organizations for maintenance and operation. In fact, if it is important that infrastructure last and be open, then the organization that maintains it is more important than the item itself. A good organization that builds and maintains bridges is more important than any one bridge. A bridge might be built, but it won’t be safe to cross if there aren’t regular safety checks and engineering support. It thus follows that good infrastructure includes the management, staffing, ongoing budgets, and support equipment that keep it all working. If we think of the Library as a traditional form of research infrastructure, we can see the importance of professional organization. The buildings and the books are important, but the Library can’t work as infrastructure without professional staff organized and funded to maintain services.

That said, describing organizations as infrastructure seems to push the definition. We tend to think of infrastructure as what you can touch and use, not the maintenance organization. One can see this in the ongoing politics of physical infrastructure renewal which are stable entertainment for those interested in municipal politics and stimulus packages. On a regular basis there are calls for infrastructure renewal like the dramatic and “hard-hitting” 1983 America In Ruins which has the ruins of a Roman forum on the cover. The cover says it all: the American Empire will fall apart as the Roman one did if there isn’t the political will to invest in infrastructure renewal. The report, while documenting the state of national infrastructure in the US, starts mostly with political recommendations to create the sustained organization and attention needed.

We might ask why calls for renewal are needed? The reason is that funding bodies like to build new infrastructure, but don’t like to budget for its ongoing maintenance. What funders can see is appreciated; maintaining infrastructure that is so expected that it becomes transparent is a thankless job. Funding new stuff looks progressive; maintaining infrastructure doesn’t impress.

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Source:  OpenStax, Online humanities scholarship: the shape of things to come. OpenStax CNX. May 08, 2010 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11199/1.1
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