[201] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Print vs. Electronic Information
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Public-Access Computer Systems For)
Fri May 8 09:31:13 1992
Date: Fri, 8 May 1992 08:27:00 CDT
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU>
From: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <LIBPACS%UHUPVM1.BITNET@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L@UHUPVM1.BITNET>
6 Messages, 148 Lines
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From: Susan.Beck@um.cc.umich.edu
Subject: Re: Print vs. Electronic Information
As one of Lancaster's students at Illinois, I spent lots of time talking
and writing about "cuddly readers" and the electronic book. It seems
to me that paper usage probably is decreased in proportion to the
information explosion. We might be using a lot more were it not for
bits and the ability to access discrete amounts of information.
I love the printed page and think, too, that paper will always be around;
however, societies may be separate unto themselves within a time frame.
Perhaps the society to eschew paper in favor of green screens is nearer
than we think. Would they dare to admit that they don't keep paper copies?
Are computer viruses the true enemies of such societies? Do the Klingons
know about them? :)
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From: jaffe@ucscm.UCSC.EDU (Lee Jaffe, McHenry Library, UC Santa Cruz,
408/459-3297)
Subject: Re: Print vs. Electronic Information
To what extent is the increase in paper creation a natural function of
automated information systems versus a product of the human inefficiency of
using such automated systems?
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Or possibly a sign that we're not ready to bet the farm that the electricity
is going to stay on. Many traditions and institutions still require that
we submit or save things in print. Once the electronic formats are better
integrated into our society there should be less reliance on print for
business, legal and governmental matters. Its moving that way more all the
time but for now its still belt and suspenders.
-- Lee Jaffe, UC Santa Cruz
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From: Andy Boze <ABOZE@IRISHVMA>
Subject: Re: Print vs. Electronic Information
I've heard people commenting for years now about whatever happened to
Lancaster's paperless society, and that PCs have in fact increased our
use of paper. Well, they're probably correct. However, I do believe
that the way paper is being used has changed over the last decade and
that within another decade or so we'll start to see a reduction in paper
use. We may never reach a paperless society, but we probably will see
paperless offices in the not-too-distant future.
A decade ago paper was used for information storage and transmission.
Let's use _Reader's Guide_ as an example. Back when I was a student, I
had to chase down citations in large paper volumes and then usually
transcribe them into a notebook. These days most students would rather
die than use a paper copy of _Reader's Guide_. The citations are stored
and transmitted electronically from the CD-ROM or OPAC to a terminal
with a PRINTER attached. No more transcription by hand; just press the
print button and out comes a mound of paper. And, of course, the paper
just gets thrown away (or maybe recycled). Paper seems to be a
by-product of information tranmission now, rather than the medium as it
used to be. The next step in the evolution of the paperless society is
for information to be printed electronically (e.g., to disk) rather than
to paper. Most, if not all, CD-ROM products allow users to download
their search results to disk, but how many of us actually encourage our
users to do so?
How many times have I seen a colleague reading PACS-L, for example,
and see something he or she wanted to save only to hit the Print Screen
key? If we want a paperless society, we're going to have to change our
habits. In my own office, I very seldom use my printer. By using
appropriate (and inexpensive or free) software, anything that I receive
in electronic format I also store electronically. Whenever I need to
retrieve information, it's just a matter of doing a simple keyword
search. Anything I can get online (from PACS-L to a remote OPAC to USA
Today) I can save to an electronic clippings file using my
communications software. I rarely use my filing cabinet anymore. Many
people could do this if they would just start.
Phasing out paper in the home is going to be quite a different matter.
Electronics will replace paper only when the electronics are as
convenient to use paper. I'd much rather read a paperback in bed than the
same text on a computer monitor. But within a decade I would be willing to
bet that people will be taking electronic books to bed, to the beach, or
on the bus. The technologies are already being developed that will lead
to this.
So don't discount the paperless society; it's just in the process of
evolving. I wonder what Prof. Lancaster might have to say about the
current state of paperless evolution.
Andy Boze Internet: AWCXCH@IRISHMVS.CC.ND.EDU
PC/LAN Coordinator or ABOZE@VMA.CC.ND.EDU
University Libraries of Notre Dame BITNet: AWCXCH@IRISHMVS
221 Hesburgh Library
Notre Dame, IN 46556 Phone: (219) 239-8708
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From: HANNIGAN@ZODIAC.BITNET
Subject: Re: Print vs. Electronic Information
Glenn's question is an interesting one. Human inefficiency in the use
of automated systems may, in part at least, be a functionof laziness
or of the rush sydrome. I want information quickly so studing the
complexity of a search strategy is too much work--therefore choose
anything that appears relevant to my inquiry. Does this trainof
thought suggest that a user needs more help than one might think? jane
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From: MJENSEN@CHARLIE.USD.EDU (Mary Brandt Jensen)
Subject: Re: Print vs. Electronic Information
To a large extent, I think the reason that automation has increased
paper is because It has increased efficiency and productivity in people.
It has also given us the opportunity to do things we couldn't do before
that also involve paper. I write far more than I did before word processing
and so do most of my colleagues. We not only publish more, but we also
get more comments at various stages of our drafts. All because it is
easier to produce the paper printouts now that we have automation.
Mary Brandt Jensen University of South Dakota
Director of the Law Library School of Law
Associate Professor of Law 414 E. Clark St.
MJENSEN@CHARLIE.USD.EDU Vermillion, SD 57069-2390
(605) 677 6363 Fax (605) 677 5417
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From: David Mattison <dmattiso@cue.bc.ca>
Subject: Print vs. Electronic Information
Ok, ok I'm convinced and tired of listening to this argument. Perhaps a new s
ubject thread, "Electronic Information, A New World Tradition
Designed for the Old," should start. Oh, and please don't print this, it j
usts destroys
another tree from we poor Northern Brazilians.
Perhaps it's time to reframe the agrument. How about going out and acentuating
the positive aspects of the Internet and the low cost. Perhaps a slogan
campaign should be started and the desktop publishing revolution put to real
work rather than churning out more junk mail and destroying the trees up here
in the Brazil of the North. None of the politicos and "opposing" interests
I've seen on the tube arguing over this latest campaign to save the trees
has even mentioned the existence of our networking community and the potential,
if we apply it wisely, of effecting positive change in the broadest sense.
My slogan contribution: Electronic Information, a New World Tradition Designed
for the Old.
David Mattison
Victoria, "Geneva of the Pacific", BC
