FreePint Newsletter 223 - Paperless office + Infotopia
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FreePint
"Helping 79,000 people find, use, manage
and share work-related information"
ISSN 1460-7239 1st February 2007 No.223
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ONLINE FORMATTED HTML VERSION
IN THIS ISSUE
-------------
GUEST EDITORIAL
By Jill Hurst-Wahl
MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
By Mandy Webster
FREEPINT BAR
In Association with Factiva, from Dow Jones
JINFO :: JOBS IN INFORMATION
Cataloguer
P/T Librarian
Records Manager
European Records Manager
TIPS ARTICLE
"Why I Prefer Hardcopy"
By Katrina Hughes
REVIEW
"Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge"
Written by Cass R. Sunstein
Reviewed by Adrian Janes
FEATURE ARTICLE
"Paperless Myth: Rumours of Paper's Demise
Have Been Greatly Exaggerated"
By Ulla de Stricker
EVENTS, GOLD AND FORTHCOMING ARTICLES
CONTACT INFORMATION
ONLINE FORMATTED HTML VERSION
FULLY FORMATTED PDF VERSION
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*Searching, but not finding, costs your organisation time and money*
Download a copy of IDC's newest white paper, "The Hidden Costs of
Information Searching" and learn how Factiva can help you improve your
efficiency and make a real difference to the bottom line.
Download your copy at
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*** Don't sign your 2007 contract until you read this ***
December: VIP compares the 'Big Three'
January: Editor comments on Thomson exit from news arena
* Factiva, LexisNexis and Thomson news services compared in the Dec 06
* Jan 06 issue organises chaos of layoffs, Thomson exit and
other factors
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*** ABOUT FREEPINT ***
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EDITORIAL
By Jill Hurst-Wahl
For 30 years, we have awaited the arrival of the paperless office.
With increased use of digital technologies, we have assumed that our
use of paper would decrease. Yet we are all surrounded by paper. What
happened?
Information is either born digital or digitised. Even current
information that is created in an analogue form finds its way into a
digital format at some point. Yet as Abigail Sellen and Richard Harper
revealed in "The Myth of the Paperless Office" (MIT Press, 2001),
these digital documents do not allow us to do those things that we are
accustomed to doing. We cannot grasp, carry, fold, write on or trash
them. We cannot post them on the bulletin board or burn them in
protest. These things we can do with paper are also ways of
demonstrating our control over that paper (and the information it
contains). Paper persists because we can do more with it than digital
files.
As a digitisation consultant, I know that digitising materials will
increase access to information and lessen our reliance on paper. Yet
the truth is that digitisation is creating a situation in which people
come in contact with documents that they want to grasp, carry, fold,
write on, post, destroy and control. The only way they can do those
things is to print the documents. And so what was supposed to help us
rely less on paper only increases the amount around us, because paper
interacts with our senses and our need for control in a way that
digital files cannot.
In the future, we can only hope that digital files give us the same
satisfaction as the paper that fills our offices. This means creating
new ways of interacting with digital files. Many companies are already
looking at ways of accessing digital materials differently. Those
companies include Google as well as Linden Labs (who created
SecondLife.com). I recently reported on Second Life in FreePint's
sister publication VIP . Let us hope that
their creations finally make the paperless office a reality.
Sincerely,
Jill Hurst-Wahl
FreePint is a Registered Trademark of Free Pint Limited (R) 1997-2007
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Jill Hurst-Wahl of Hurst Associates, Ltd.
is a consultant who provides
digitisation workshops, develops digitisation plans and works with
organisations to implement digitisation programs including evaluating
software, hardware and vendors for specific digitisation efforts.
Since 1989, she has worked on corporate digitisation programs as well
as consortial projects. In addition to her consulting work, Jill is a
frequent speaker and author. Her blog, Digitisation 101
, is widely read by those interested
in creating, managing, marketing and preserving digital assets.
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*** FreePint FUMSI Reports: Get the Know-How ***
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MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
By Mandy Webster
When I'm looking for general legal information on the Internet, I find
all of these sites invaluable.
* Delia Venables provides a good starting
point for research with her comprehensive and organised gateway to
mainly freely available legal websites in the UK and rest of the
world.
* House of Lords Judgments
are
available within hours' delivery. Email alerts of when judgments
have been delivered and what's on in the week ahead add value to
this service.
* A good way of keeping up to date with news about law firms, cases
and deals is provided by TheLawyer.com ,
a site updated throughout the day.
* LLRX , the Law Library Resource Xchange,
provides invaluable articles for keeping up to date with law
librarianship, KM and IT news worldwide.
* From a work, and more often personal, perspective Bookfinder
is one of the best means of tracing
used and even esoteric, rare out-of-print books.
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Mandy Webster is library and information services manager at Browne
Jacobson and co-author of "BIALL Handbook of Legal Information
Management and Knowledge Management: Social, cultural and theoretical
perspectives".
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ResourceShelf Resource of the Week:
A Convenient Way to Browse OECD Statistics
Explore the latest posts in mobile search, search engine news,
podcasting and more.
Visit to subscribe to the free weekly
newsletter, capture the RSS feeds and search the database.
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FREEPINT BAR
By Monique Cuvelier, Editor, FreePint
In Association with Factiva from Dow Jones
Technical issues plague our digital world, so it's little wonder so
many of us feel attached to paper. Below is a sampling of issues and
solutions from the Bar. Log on today to pick up tips or lend your own.
* An alphabet soup of components is failing one Bar member, although
his problems aren't uncommon. His old-school PC isn't booting up as
it should. Do you have experience with hard disk drives and the
Windows operating system? Share some expertise (or find out how
others are combating similar issues)
.
* If you had to 'at the click of a button' transfer data between a
spreadsheet and a text document, which tool would you use? Tell this
FreePinter, who needs an easy way of switching content back and
forth .
* FreePint's contributors talk about how attached they are to hard
copy in this issue of the newsletter, but that doesn't stop large-
scale digitisation projects. A US university is looking to digitise
all old dissertations and theses, while throwing away originals.
This may, however, raise copyright issues. Read about the whole
project here . Another
university has launched a similar project
.
* A recent flurry of activity regarding web images and copyright
infringement has spurred another thread on a similar topic. One
FreePinter is developing an online, digital image database. But he
doesn't have rights and is wondering how to go about obtaining them
for the hundreds of images he's about to load. Any suggestions where
to begin ?
* If you're curious about what one of the barristers or judges
involved in an image copyright case might look like, check out this
discussion .
* Government websites are often less than they promise to be. FreePint
has brought up this issue before
, and another FreePinter is
asking about it now . If you're
interested in reading up on resources relating to US presidential
speeches, including the recent State of the Union address, consider
ResourceShelf, published by Free Pint Limited and compiled by Gary
Price and Shirl Kennedy: and
.
Do you miss Google Answers? Mourn no more. Turn to the FreePint Bar
for free help with your tricky research questions
. Help with study for
information-related courses is available at the FreePint Student Bar
. Subscribe to the twice-weekly
email digests at .
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Monique Cuvelier is Editor of the FreePint Newsletter. She has served
as editor of several publications and her writing has appeared in
Publish, USA Today, Bankrate and many others. Learn more about her at
.
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The FreePint Bar is where you can get free help with your tricky
research and information questions .
Help with study for information-related courses is available at the
FreePint Student Bar .
Subscribe to the twice-weekly email digests at
.
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On the Ticker: Use DocuTicker for Full-Text Resources
Find free full-text reports put out by government agencies, NGOs,
charities and other public interest organisations. Recent additions:
* Anti-Spyware Coalition Unveils Two Major Documents
* Foreign News Coverage: The U.S. Media's Undervalued Asset
Subscribe to the weekly ResourceShelf Newsletter for highlights,
capture the RSS feed, or visit daily .
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JINFO :: JOBS IN INFORMATION
The Jinfo service enables you to search and advertise information-
related job vacancies.
The newly redesigned Jinfo Newsletter now features a CV Makeover, in
which a job seeker's CV is critiqued and revised by specialists in the
field. Read the latest edition and learn how to submit your CV for
review.
Subscribe free at .
Here is a selection of the latest featured entries in the Jinfo
database:
Cataloguer
The role requires assisting selected departments with their
cataloguing, updating records on SFX and Metalib.
Recruiter: TFPL Ltd.
Country: United Kingdom
P/T Librarian
Qualified Librarian needed to run enquiry service.
Recruiter: Instant Library Recruitment (Tribal Group Plc)
Country: United Kingdom
Records Manager
Position leading records management strategy. Responsible for
implementing information retention and disposal programme.
Recruiter: Glen Recruitment
Country: United Kingdom
European Records Manager
EMEA responsibility for RM for leading investment bank,
newly created role, good package.
Recruiter: Sue Hill Recruitment and Services Limited
Country: United Kingdom
[The above jobs are paid listings]
NB: These are just a selection of information-related jobs in the
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* JOB SEARCHING? -- Free search and sign up to the Jinfo Newsletter
* RECRUITING? -- Complete the form and advertise a vacancy for
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TIPS ARTICLE
"Why I Prefer Hardcopy"
By Katrina Hughes
Earlier this year when I was ordering a document that was in both
hardcopy and electronic format, I thought to myself, why do we still
use hardcopy? Why, especially when we can receive the electronic
version of a document quicker and it is easier to store?
I wondered if what I was thinking was something that everyone in the
library industry thought, or was I in the minority? This is why, in
2006, I decided to survey the library industry to see why we still use
the hardcopy versions of documents.
While I am still going through my survey results, (you will have to
wait until Information Online 2007 in Sydney, Australia
, for the results) it has made me
look at why I still use hardcopy in my personal life. In today's
world, where so many things are in electronic format, it's worth
considering the question.
When the electronic versions of documents started to become more
pervasive, we were told that the paperless office was a reality. But,
actually, we have more hardcopy documents now than ever before.
So why, when I can choose electronic versions of documents, do I reach
for hardcopy so often? Is this something that my clients prefer, or do
only I prefer the hardcopy versions?
After the holiday season has just passed, I've noticed how popular
electronic Christmas cards are becoming. I also thought about the
reasons that were given from different organisations about why they
decided to send an electronic version of a Christmas card. They ranged
from that they saved money, and that the money that they saved will be
given to a charity, to it was easier to send an electronic version.
But when I asked myself if I preferred an electronic or hardcopy
version of the cards, I preferred paper. Everyone can see a card on a
mantle. Only I can see an electronic card on a computer.
This also got me thinking about how practical an electronic version of
a document is. If you do not have the computer resources to print
something out, only one person can look at an electronic document at a
time. Also, you are not really saving that much money if you pay to
print something out, as you pay for the electronic version, plus the
paper and ink to print a document. So you are really paying for the
document twice. I'll talk more about the financial issues of
electronic versus hardcopy when I present my paper at Information
Online 2007.
Cost aside, maybe we still use hardcopy simply because we like paper
better. In a world where everything changes so quickly, I think it is
comforting to keep something that's in its original format. A hardcopy
version will not suddenly change format overnight, nor do you have to
go through different website logins and search for a document. With a
hardcopy version all you have to do is take it off the shelf and read
it. I think it is reassuring to know that a hardcopy version of a
document is constant.
Having an electronic version of a document also means you have to be
more careful of where you read it. I would not take a laptop to the
beach for fear it would fall in the water or become packed with sand.
On the other hand, I'm more comfortable reading an electronic document
on a bus going to or from work, provided, of course, that I'm reading
the electronic document on a small screen. Electronic copies appear on
computer screens, and laptops and computers aren't convenient on buses
either. PDAs are better to carry around, although you give up screen
size for portability.
Electronic versions of everything from newspapers to bills will
continue to multiply. As industry and commerce look at ways of
reducing costs, they too are looking at publishing electronic versions
of their correspondence to us and sending it by email. In Australia,
American Express allows me to view my monthly statements
electronically so they don't have to send it via the post.
That may be easier for American Express, but it's not always easier
for me. How many of us print off a hardcopy and keep it for our
records? I print out a copy as a reminder to pay my bill by its due
date. I've considered the alternative of keeping my home computer
running with a pop-up reminder when it's time to pay, but rejected the
idea since I don't use my home computer every day and might miss the
reminder.
Having these printed copies also makes it easier for me to find
important documents. For example, while writing this I started looking
for a document on my computer and I had to stop and think how to find
it. Which folder did I place it in? What name did I give it when I
saved it? While I know how easy it is to remember what a hardcopy of a
document looks like, I don't believe it's easy to remember what an
electronic version of a document looks like.
Locating a file by its proper name is further complicated by working
with so many people over the years (not forgetting to mention my
husband here). We all have different methods of naming files. Some
people use dates, people's names, the subject matter or simply the
first line of the document.
Consider for a moment what happens when you download a document from
the internet. Sometimes the name of the file doesn't match the title
of the document. Inevitably, the file name contains numbers and
letters that jumble into a code that may even include non-alpha-
numeric characters. I have difficulty finding documents I just
downloaded.
The trouble with locating electronic pages extends past my home
computer. I have found it hard to find documents on internet pages,
especially those I have subscribed to that require a user ID and
password. With a hardcopy version of these otherwise password-
protected documents, all I have to do is go the bookcase, open the
folder and find it. Alas, another reason why I prefer a hardcopy of
the electronic version.
I may be fond of hardcopy, but there are merits to electronic. A key
benefit of digital is that I can download the most recently published
version of a manuscript. Waiting for delivery by more traditional
means takes time and can require more money.
Still, while electronic documents are usually cheaper, nothing beats
hardcopy for me. And in the end, logistics and cost and accessibility
don't explain why. It's much more elemental. It's the feel of having a
piece of paper in my hand; that new book smell.
Change is good, but do we have to change everything at once? Me, I'll
stick with hardcopy versions of documents, and leave electronic for
some time in the future.
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Katrina Hughes will present more of her survey findings at Online
Information 2007 in Sydney, Australia
. She started working in the
library industry 15 years ago, first as a library technician in 1991
and then earning a university degree as a librarian in 2003. She has
worked mainly within special libraries in the construction industry
and the area of standards. Katrina has also worked in public
libraries. She is married and training to be a ballroom dance teacher.
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If a paperless office seems like an attractive option that's just out
of reach, this list of top resources for digitisation from Jill
Hurst-Wahl might make it that much closer. A longer list appears here:
.
* "Digitization Essentials Workshop" PDF
By Jill Hurst-Wahl and K. Matthew Dames
* "Digitization 101"
* DigitalKoans
* "Digital Preservation Management: Implementing Short-term Strategies
for Long-term Problems"
* "Moving Theory into Practice: Digital Imaging Tutorial"
Cornell University Library
* "Digitization & Preservation Online Resource Center"
* "Library Copying in the Digital Age" K. Matthew Dames
* "Digital Audio Best Practices, version 2.0" CDP Digital Audio
Working Group
* "Digital Preservation and Copyright" Peter B. Hirtle
* Digitizationblog
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Related FreePint links:
* "Records Management, the Aunt Sally of your business!"
By Tony Croft
* Why are we still using hardcopy? - Survey
* "Digital Preservation Management: Implementing Short-term Strategies
for Long-term Problems" Reviewed by Jill Hurst-Wahl
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*** Use DigBig to shorten long Web addresses ***
DigBig is a fast and free way to shorten long URLs, so that
they're easy to include in newsletters and other communications.
"This makes communications with our members in the Federation of
Communication Services, and the industry at large so much easier -
Thank You isn't praise enough!" Marketing Manager, (January 2007)
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REVIEW
"Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge"
Written by Cass R. Sunstein
Reviewed by Adrian Janes
"Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge" concerns how the
limitations on our knowledge as individuals might be overcome by
working with and learning from the efforts of others. As well as
considering long-established means of deliberation (e.g., meetings and
juries), author Cass R. Sunstein also examines the use of the
Internet.
Sunstein, a faculty member of the University of Chicago Law School and
a former attorney-advisor in the Office of the Legal Counsel of the
U.S. Department of Justice, examines how people in groups share -- or
fail to share -- their knowledge. His reflections often derive from
social science experiments.
Sunstein looks at the main ways of eliciting the knowledge of
individuals and groups. He stresses that, in deliberation, people may
not share all the unique information they have (giving groups a
'hidden profile'). Managers and political leaders can become so
committed to a course of action based on insular decision-making that
their attitude and organisational structures (termed 'information
cocoons' and 'echo chambers') discount information that would
contradict it.
Besides deliberation, other methods for obtaining pooled information
are taking the statistical average of individual views, or looking at
some sort of market. Sunstein enthuses about how the Internet can be
used, both in these ways and those peculiar to it, e.g., wikis. He is
especially concerned to scotch the idea that many minds deliberating
together will necessarily be superior to that of a group of
individuals. But certain conditions, such as group members should be
more likely to be right than wrong, must be met to ensure this
(although this begs the question of how they become right in the first
place).
Following research laid by economist, neuroscientist and Nobel Prize
winner Friedrich Hayek, Sunstein invests much hope in market
mechanisms to aggregate knowledge. This tips into still greater
enthusiasm for 'prediction markets.' These can be internal to
organisations or open to a wider circle; rather than commodities, they
concern possible events. The rewards tend to be in 'virtual money' or
prizes. Astonishingly, he sees no moral difference between predicting
Oscar winners and such questions as the possible number of AIDS
infections by 2010. That people might profit from the latter sort of
speculation seems not to trouble him; the accuracy of the predictions
is his preoccupation in this book.
Of course the book's central issue (that people do not share all they
know) is vital to its content. Sunstein also says the herd mentality
of organisational hierarchies needs to be addressed if, say,
healthcare workers are to open up about their thoughts.
The most absorbing chapter explores wikis, open-source software and
blogs. It balances keenness for the co-operation of Wikipedia with the
possibility of vandalism; the free speech of blogs with their tendency
to become another form of information cocoon. While celebrating wikis,
Sunstein's emphasis on economic incentives makes him a little
mystified by the attractive power of being able to participate and be
well-regarded that rewards their contributors.
Overall this is a clearly written book, but one that often labours to
establish fairly simple conclusions. The proposals for reform to
methods of deliberation do little to address the potential problems of
being overlooked for promotion, fired or simply unpopular if putting
forward information from an inferior or little-known position.
Although the Internet has certainly introduced unique channels for
obtaining information, it is also shown to add to the misinformation
in the world. So the Utopian world of Infotopia seems only a little
nearer.
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Having begun his career in academic libraries, Adrian Janes is
currently an Information Services librarian with the London Borough of
Havering. Among his influences are Phil Bradley, Philip K. Dick and
Chris Morris.
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Related FreePint links:
* Find out more about this book online at the FreePint Bookshelf
* "The Librarian's Internet Survival Guide" Written by Irene E.
McDermott Reviewed by Adrian Janes
* Search for and purchase any book from Amazon via the FreePint
Bookshelf at
* FUMSI: Share Information
Related links:
* Read customer comments and buy this book at Amazon.co.uk
* or Amazon.com
To propose an information-related book or resource for review, send
details to Monique Cuvelier, Editor of FreePint .
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FEATURE ARTICLE
"Paperless Myth: Rumours of Paper's Demise
Have Been Greatly Exaggerated"
By Ulla de Stricker
The other day I happened to look at my office from an angle I don't
usually occupy (on a step stool) and marvelled at all the paper
objects. Really now, in this day and age? For a knowledge management
consultant? It started me thinking: What is it about paper that makes
it such a useful tool? Why do we, indeed, still need it (within
reason, of course)?
We have all seen the horror offices so piled with paper we wonder how
the occupant gets to his or her desk (and been amazed how he or she
can yank a needed piece of paper out of a 2-foot pile in 2 seconds).
Out-of-line accumulations are not to be defended.
But most of us have multiple projects on the go. We can fantasise
about finishing one activity cleanly before going on to the next --
it's a pipe dream. Most professionals' offices provide instant visual
evidence of the number of 'things they are currently working on'.
Adhering to the time-honoured principle of dealing with any piece of
communication (be that an email or a printed memo) immediately is
impossible because most responses can't just be constructed here and
now. They require some kind of answer or input from a third party
(sometimes many, for example when it's necessary to run something by a
committee before issuing a reply).
The press for paper
-------------------
How come the electronic tools don't seem to make paper unnecessary?
OK, you might say that given today's tools, shouldn't it be possible
to simply place each open matter on the electronic desktop or virtual
workrooms? It should, but I have never seen anyone operate that way.
In my own case, it's a daily occurrence that my eye falls on a piece
of paper on my desk and I think, 'Oh yes, I must get to that. And if
you, little piece of paper, hadn't reminded me, it would have slipped
my mind in the crush of simultaneous to-dos'.
Similarly, the most effective way for me to actually make that phone
call I need to make first thing in the morning is to -- you guessed it
-- put a scribbled paper note smack on top of the keyboard where I
cannot avoid finding it as I check the email while the coffee's
brewing. Sticky notes on the coffee pot or the bathroom mirror work
well, too!
Shouldn't it be possible for work groups to collaborate virtually
using the many group-space tools now on the market? It should, but in
practice, knowledge managers and IT personnel are finding that the
virtual collaboration tools tend to go unused.
Again, I'm a perfect example: My professional association offers a
communities-of-practice (CoP) tool ... and I cringe every time a
notification pops up that the administrator has added a new item: 'Oh
no, not again.' Log in, click several times, remember which element of
the item to click on to open it, etc. Why couldn't the document in
question be sent to me by email as well, thus being but a fraction of
a second away from being open? As for, 'Yes, but the entire point here
is to get away from email', there are not enough minutes in the day
for me to go into the CoP to see if anyone added commentary since the
last time I looked!
Alright then. Is it an age-related phenomenon that knowledge workers
ignore their computers' storage potential and collaboration tools? Is
it the case that while we seasoned professionals don't, younger
knowledge workers -- those for whom YouTube is as natural as breathing
-- take to the virtual tools because their brains are wired
differently, the way Stephen Abram of SirsiDynix tells it? (His
presentations on the information handling, social interaction, and
learning styles of today's children and teens are very entertaining).
Perhaps, and time will tell.
Where electronics succeed
-------------------------
We have evolved, but there's a limit: To give ourselves a little
credit, it did occur to me that we have in fact evolved along with
technology since we mastered those IBM Selectrics. I can still conjure
up the look of the typeface balls in my desk drawer and the feel of
the snap when the mechanism locked in place. I credit my strong page-
layout skills to the need for planning ahead what was going to go
where on the page as I typed!
Our habits have developed in step with the world around us. I need
only think of the almost-never-used inventory of courier envelopes and
pre-printed five-part address forms I originally acquired 15 years
ago. Dedicated fax machines and extra phone lines to feed them? The
company letterhead I paid so much for back then? No way, not today.
It's a cultural thing: So indeed, we aren't entirely hopeless in terms
of adapting to new technologies, and our being from an earlier era is
not the reason for our continued use of paper. I believe certain
intrinsic characteristics of paper and certain considerations in
social interaction provide a better explanation.
To give a few examples:
* Paper is conveniently portable. It isn't terribly practical to be
keeping track of a PDA while loading bananas into the grocery
store's produce bag. Give me my scrap-paper grocery list any day. It
lies in plain view in the basket or cart as I make my way though the
aisles. No squinting, nothing to delete afterwards
* Many types of work lend themselves to being performed over a snack
or meal, but only if there's a paper copy. Eating across a keyboard
while editing a document or spreadsheet is not, in my view, much of
a break. But lunching while proofreading and jotting down the odd
correction qualifies
* The window of time we have available may play a role in how we
choose to operate. If I have 15 minutes, is it worthwhile to fire up
a laptop and open the relevant files (a paper file folder opens and
closes a lot faster)? Commuter trains and airport business lounges
seem to confirm this assumption. Of those passengers not looking out
of the window or reading a newspaper, I generally see about half
looking at paper documents while the rest have their laptops open.
Eye strain in poor lighting may be a factor here, too
* In my work, I often interview a client's employees in-depth to gain
insight into work processes and information handling. In the
interest of the interviewee's sense of trust, I would never think of
recording the interview, and in the interest of establishing
personal rapport, I would never think of typing into a laptop during
the interview. A few discreet notes made by hand in my spiral-bound
notebook do not interfere with the flow of conversation and eye
contact, and I like to believe my interviewees feel respected
through this approach of mine. Having a colleague along who captures
comments directly into a laptop is, of course, a good compromise,
one I take advantage of whenever possible.
Breeding paper
--------------
In effect, I believe paper is a convenient, temporary thinking device.
Once that million-dollar idea has been sketched out on the back of an
envelope in a bar, the envelope has done its job and can be retired.
But not to be filed. Aside from archival protection of irreplaceable
material, we do not need to hang on to much historical paper (except,
of course, for specific types of materials such as the receipts and
financial records the law dictates we must keep for seven years). To
wit, I no longer own the filing cabinets I needed 15 years ago. What
we do need, of course, are the electronic backup cabinets that keep
morphing -- once we used CDs, now it's memory sticks. Next?
But paper just seems to breed! Having thus made my little case for the
continued appropriateness of paper in our daily personal and work
lives, I admit paper has a tendency to proliferate and creep across
surfaces, seemingly on its own. We have all spent quite enough time
turning our desks upside down while muttering, 'I know I printed that
document just an hour ago, now WHERE is it?' only to re-print the item
and find the first printout, a week later, stapled to the back of
something else.
Perhaps I'm not alone in starting most days with neatly organised
small stacks of paper, each representing a project or meeting or
article I'm working on, only to end the day with crosswise layers
having taken over my extremely long desk (custom built, IKEA doesn't
sell them that large).
My defence? I'm tidily working on a document on the computer,
referring to three others laid out before me, when the phone rings and
I need to pull out some material to aid the conversation. The new
materials end up on top of my aforementioned three (it's either that,
or I'd have to move on to the kitchen island), and before I can re-
file them, the phone rings again, etc. In order to be sure to have all
the documents I need for tomorrow's meeting ready for packing in the
briefcase, I place them on the floor right beside said briefcase. You
get the picture. And I know you have already nodded in recognition!
Dream on
--------
Decades ago, 'the paperless office' was a glorious dream. It still is.
It's not going to happen soon. Perhaps it will one day a long, long
time from now. Possibly the creators of the Star Trek series had it
right with those pocket-free uniforms. But I wonder ...
P.S.
Coincidentally, the same day I was on the step stool I read a
newspaper article about Ms. Zhang who built
a hugely successful business importing scrap paper from the US to
China for use in packaging for exported goods. The fact she is worth
more than Oprah tells a tale right there.
Now I'm conscientious recycler -- no piece of paper or cardboard,
regardless how tiny, goes in the garbage in my household! For the sake
of the trees, I hope every office -- one man operation to
multinational -- has in place a comprehensive and effective recycling
program. A topic for another day.
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Ulla de Stricker is an expert in
strategic planning for information services and in designing the
underlying information audits and user needs assessments. She has
built a strong track record assisting managers of information-centric
entities to design, assess and manage their offerings, services and
client relationships. Her firm is highly respected in North America
among information professionals. Prior to establishing her firm in
1992, Ulla held several senior management positions in the information
industry. She is a popular conference speaker and writer on topics of
interest to professionals working in information and knowledge
management fields, sharing her 30 years of experience. She can be
reached at .
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Related FreePint links:
* "What They Say and Do: Practical Tips for Harvesting Reliable User
Feedback for Planning" By Ulla de Stricker and Barbie Keiser
* "The Myth of the Paperless Office" Abigail J. Sellen and Richard H.
R. Harper
* "What ever happened to the paperless office?" The Christian Science
Monitor
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FREEPINT GOLD
A look back at what FreePint covered at this time in previous years:
* FreePint No.199 2nd February 2006. "Learning languages online" and
"Bar Orphans: Getting your questions answered at the FreePint Bar"
* FreePint No.176 10th February 2005. "Understanding Consumers through
Online Competitive Intelligence" and "Child Rights: Is Information
really free for all?"
* FreePint No.153 5th February 2004. "Disintegrating Digital Fences:
Finding Business Information in Ukraine and its Neighbouring
Countries" and "10 things you should know about the UK's Freedom of
Information regime"
* FreePint No.130 6th February 2003. "Online Library Catalogues" and
"Patent Searching Without Words - Why Do It, How To Do It?"
* FreePint No.105, 7th February 2002. "Business Information in
Germany" and "Pay Per Click Search Engines and Promoting your
Website"
* FreePint No.80, 1st February 2001. "An adventure in ADSL: the
Superhighway finally becomes 'super'?" and "E-Books"
* FreePint No.55, 3rd February 2000. "Classical Music Web Sites" and
"Researching the Researchers - Finding Market Research Agencies on
the Web"
* FreePint No.31, 4th February 1999. "Researching from home" and
"Internet Resources for Seniors"
* FreePint No.7, 5th February 1998. "Fabricating Information" and
"Engineering resources: examples and sources"
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