With technology costs so high, how is it possible to create a digital library without breaking the budget? At the University of South Carolina, this is just what we were determined to figure out. The enthusiasm was there, but no one was offering us a bag full of money to get started. The library already had several important projects clamoring for the same bag anyway. The largest project was migrating to a new integrated library system. Then there was the badly needed new fire alarm system and other required renovations to our aging main building. Obviously, a digital library was not a priority in the face of these more immediate needs.
In 2002, a new dean of libraries arrived …