Harland Onsrud is an geomatics academic who has published a significant
& innovative body of work
(
http://www.spatial.maine.edu/%7Eonsrud/onsrud.html) on the topic of
access to geospatial data.
The link to the following paper refers to the
Library Metaphor
used in the field of geomatics when trying to explain the free and open
access to data as a public good.
Exploring the Library Metaphor in Developing a More Inclusive NSDI
http://geoall.net/library_harlanonsrud.html
Cheers
Tracey