Knowing when to build or buy software is an ongoing topic that has existed for decades, but answers evolve alongside trends in museum staffing and software business models.

How do you respond when vendors and agencies are filling your inbox with listicles on why you should buy their solutions? What if an energetic developer wants to build sharable and open solutions that will require maintainers? How can museums with very different resources and personnel share tactics in a meaningful way?

This paper aims to provoke conversation and encourage museums to address the question of "build versus buy" case by case and not as a global institutional decision.