I wish to thank all the list members who have replied to my query online and off. Please keep 'em coming! Great ideas here.

If I may be permitted some follow-on comments:

First, let me state for the record that I do not believe that libraries have no role in a purely OA future, nor do I expect such a future (or anything "pure"). Traditional collections are but one part of a library's functions.

Second, the original question was put as a hypothetical. This is an approach my colleagues and I often use when conducting strategic planning sessions with clients. We have found that inviting people to contemplate a universe that is similar to our own, but different, opens up a number of new perspectives. It is also true that some people struggle to imagine a purely (that word again) universe.

Finally, the question that nags at me is whether or not universities will continue to support libraries as they do now if the budget for toll-access materials were to fall to zero or something close to it. What happens when you "unbundle" non-collections activities from collection-building itself? Will a university administration look coldly at some of those activities and ask the library to do the job with fewer resources? Or do we believe that the administration of the modern university is as enlightened as those who direct and operate the institution's libraries?

Thank you again for the helpful and insightful responses and, yes, I would welcome hearing more, online or off.

Joe Esposito