From another provider of data, information and even knowledge. "Thank

you for ibiblio" notes to UNC are in order.

- d.

-------------------- Subject: Happy 2009 from ibiblio

I'm jumping in between Christmas and New Year's to thank you for your contributions to ibiblio and for your support in the past year.

We've had a period a great growth over the past few years especially as seen here:

2002 2006 2008 800 Collections 1600+ Collections 2500+ Collections 3 million ftp+www/day 15+ million 16+ million ftp+www/day 1 terabyte of data 8 terabytes of data 13 terabytes of data 1 large server 22 www/vhost servers 25 www/vhost servers 2 database servers 5 database servers 7 database servers 4 radio stations 6 radio stations 6 radio stations

In fact, the 2008 figures were taken at mid-year and we've grown since then!

ibiblio is lways eclectic as our newest contributors, The African Elephant Experts Group http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.african-elephant.net%2F and Pachyderm - the Journal of the African Elephant, African Rhino and Asia Rhino Specialist Groups http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.pachydermjournal.org%2Findex.php%... show.

We, you and ibiblio, offer granular bits of everything to everybody in the world; that is our strength and your gifts, a combined independently managed set of miscellanies for a loosely connected world.

At the same time, we face new challenges. Some are obvious; the economy and budgets everywhere have taken a nosedive since September of this year. Some are less so; we will have a new Dean (the search is just opened at the School of Information and Library Science) and a new Chancellor at UNC (Holden Thorp who does understand what ibiblio is about, but will be feeling budget pressures immediately).

Much of our ability to support you comes from your support of ibiblio. That need not be in for form of money, which is of course always welcomed and encouraged; it could be in the form of thanking UNC and NC officials for ibiblio services and for the university's support of ibiblio.

Thanks for your part of making ibiblio wonderful for over 16 years and happy 2009.

Paul