Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Paper Dilemma


I love college viewbooks. The pictures of happy students and sylvan settings make me smile even though I know they are part of a marketing machine.

So here's my dilemma. When I visit colleges (which I do a lot) I bring home literature. It's not a very "green" practice, as I know that trees were sacrificed and some of the ink used in the printing process is environmentally toxic. Then I have to file it, which takes time and space in my office.

Most students are perfectly happy to troll a school website for info and pictures. I doubt any of them will feel sad if I stop collecting viewbooks, college literary magazines and aerial view posters of schools. Yet, I think of the times I pulled something magic out of my cabinet and a student was convinced to add a great fit school she never heard of onto her college list.

Got an opinion? I haven't stuffed my recycling bin yet, so share your thoughts!

3 comments:

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    1. They will continue to be printed regardless. I can't help but think that it is a similar debate about ebooks and the real deal. There is just something tangible about holding something in your hands that makes an impact.

      Keeping them can be a chore and take up a lot of space. What about creating a system where the viewbook can be viewed as .pdf and projected up on your office wall "big screen style" for students to look at and scroll through like a slide show/Power Point Presentation? If they want a hard copy, they can always request one to be mailed directly to their home. Just a thought.

      Congrats on the blog Jodi!!!!!!!!

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  2. The "law" of supply and demand suggest that if enough people didn't want printed literature because it was not environmentally friendly, then colleges would actually stop producing the materials i a printed format. When I was on my 18 college tour of Pennsylvania two colleges told me they no longer produce viewbooks because it goes against their sustainability goals.

    I love your suggestion about turning viewbooks into slide shows. I need to think through the logistics of that and whether it would be even more of a time suck than filing, but thanks for thinking "out of the box"!

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