There are lots of ways to deploy your talents and other resources, and those of your employer. Some of those ways are subject to your choice, and some are subject to constraints. Maybe he didn't have $1500. He accomplished something for his employer. His employer was happy that it was done cheaply/quickly/at all.
The way budgets and head count works, it may have been easier/possible for his boss to say "use your labor/time to work on this" than to justify a specific purchase of the off the shelf product. They're rockin', right now, rather than still waiting for a budget approval that might not come through.
He works for a library, which is a front line service to the community. I imagine he gets a different personal spiritual/civic ROI doing this for the library than if he worked for Office Depot and did something similar (not that there's anything wrong with that). Direct service to the community just seems more ... service like.
The way budgets and head count works, it may have been easier/possible for his boss to say "use your labor/time to work on this" than to justify a specific purchase of the off the shelf product. They're rockin', right now, rather than still waiting for a budget approval that might not come through.
He works for a library, which is a front line service to the community. I imagine he gets a different personal spiritual/civic ROI doing this for the library than if he worked for Office Depot and did something similar (not that there's anything wrong with that). Direct service to the community just seems more ... service like.
No, I'm not joking.