In the straw poll, Steve Dietz asked for explanation here, noting that "there is no necessary difference in download time between the Internet and a local server. What is the issue?".

This was intended as a general statement about the benefits of having a large, deep, resource available locally with rights to use it. While download time isn't necessarily different from local servers and the net, it still typically is different. Technical difficulties abound, especially in searching for available resources. There would be rights negotiations to undertake. etc. etc.

There really isn't a single point - just that being able to provide the resources locally will generally make it easier for users on campus to exploit such resources. David