My experience is anecdotal, without any backup.  I am working with an
institution (officially, "cooperating") and do not have access to the
database.  I requested a disk with selected information, in order to perform
sorts of the data that would inform my research.  They want "intellectual"
control of their collections, but do not have the personnel nor the interest
in performing the searches in a timely fashion.  Thus, the answer to a
question may be made available several months after it was posed.
 
As for collections in the public domain - I think they ought to be really
public or the institutions should pay their share of taxes.  The staff of
many institutions are not the only ones qualified to do the research in the
field they are collecting.   In fact, in many instances, it seems research
has been de-emphasized as fiscal concerns grow and staffs are cut.  In my
opinion, it is a form of "ivory towering" to prevent knowledgable individuals
and scholars access to information for further interpretation.  It seems that
as the availability to research information is exploding, so should real
access to object information be made available, either in on-line sortable
and searchable databases, or on disk.
 
Just one opinion.  Susan Harless  [log in to unmask]