I’m very much in agreement that we will need a physical footprint for the DPLA and that merely building a web platform, code, and APIs is not enough. That said, a centralized building feels like a mistake to me, and I’d suggest that some kind of distributed, networked architecture that is visible in, on or around library locations across the country would be more effective. We have a public library infrastructure, it’s amazing, and we should be proud to transition it into this new time. I don’t doubt that a centralized building will exist for the DPLA one day, it is almost instinctive to build monuments to great efforts. But any public librarian will tell you this: *it’s in the library branches where all the real action is*. That is where we need the physical manifestation of this thing, not in some mega-structure in Washington DC.

We’ve all been a part of it. And most of us will continue to help build it until we draw our last breath.

Regarding a building, isn’t it wonderful that today there are more than ever before, and many in some quite surprising places.

Finally, about the monument “to the ideal of an informed citizenry, a culturally, intellectually, and emotionally enriched citizenry,” doesn’t this manifest itself not in physical monuments–buildings or otherwise–but in the never-ending progress of our communities, country, and world?

Through the use of the Internet to transmit information, everyone who can reach a laptop, desktop, tablet, or smartphone has much greater access at a much lower cost than anyone in history. This opens up the world of reading, publishing, recommending, and commenting as never before.

Let’s keep focused on the objective you’ve identified and realize that it’s not a building housing volumes and staff–and it never has been. Instead, the objective has been exactly as you state, an informed citizenry.

Thanks for the great article!
Matt Amory