2004FallQ1

Question #1
Publicly funded information agencies -- libraries are a good example -- are created as a public good, i.e. that is they support and enhance the quality of life in a community. Increasingly, critics argue that those interested in the services and collections provided should pay for them and that those who are not interested should not pay. Thus, information agencies would be privately funded. To what degree should community information agencies be publicly funded? In particular, what public good do they or might they create?