Eliminating Print Won’t Solve the Problem

"I have this idea that I thought I would tell you," said the e-mail message. "I am sure it's not original, but with the economy and the whole environmental crisis, carbon footprint things going on, maybe ALA can FINALLY have an option on their membership to NOT receive the magazine?" Namely American Libraries. So began a posting to the ALA Council's electronic list yesterday from Councilor Trevor A. Dawes. He was forwarding a message from an ALA member who, in her effort to be helpful, went on to say: "First off, they send thousands of these magazines out every year that just get wasted: people don't read them (me)…. If I wanted to read the magazine I could either go to the stacks, borrow someone else’s or forage through the 4th floor. Also, much of its available online now, so what's the point, AND most importantly, can't we practice what we preach and go for open access on this one?" Dawes noted that this suggestion is in line with the recent decision to send ALA election ballots entirely electronically, and that he agrees that members should be able to opt out of the print edition. Actually, so do I, and this is definitely on the horizon. Quite a number of people have suggested to me and the other editors at American Libraries that they do not wish to receive the print edition. "This could save thousands of dollars," the posting suggested, along with "a huge spot in the landfill. Mine, honestly goes directly from the mailbox into the trash can/recycle bin." I have to admit that made me say "ouch." But then I think about the many pieces of print that come to me every day that someone put their blood, sweat, and tears into but that I simply do not have time to read, and I understand that this is a discussion that we should be having, but it needs to be tempered with a couple corrections. One is that not much of it but all of American Libraries is already available online to anyone. Right now it is in searchable PDF format, but next year the content will be available online in HTML format. The decision to open up American Libraries and American Libraries Direct to nonmembers came after Annual Conference this year, where several key committees agreed with my assertion that it was time to stop characterizing print AL as the sole perquiste of membership in ALA. The second correction is to the notion that producing print American Libraries is somehow a drain on the association. The fact of the matter is that AL operates much like any other print magazine. Circulation numbers attract advertisers, advertisers want print, and it is still American Libraries print that pays the bills and the overhead required for the association to employ people to do the work necessary to be an effective advocacy organization. We are taking many steps to figure out where we are going with print, the AL Direct electronic newsletter, this Inside Scoop blog, the AL Focus video operation, and the forthcoming foray into digital supplements, all designed to attract advertisers as well as readers. American Libraries operates within ALA Publishing and the operation's primary focus is generating the revenue required to keep the Association operating, and the future of all of our activities and services depends on it. Lastly, I don't buy the argument that the best way to save the planet is to eliminate print publications—or books, for that matter. Paper, when made right, is a renewable, recyclable, biodegradable resource, unlike the must-be-replaced-every-three-years computers, hand-helds, and other petroleum-based products we put our trust in. Every couple years American Libraries, like most magazines, does a readers survey. So far (and the last one was done in 2006), none have ever indicated that readers in large numbers want us to do away with print. And general membership surveys consistently reveal that the vast majority of members view AL as their single most valued tangible link to the Association. That may change as electronic devices become easier to use and print lovers like me die off, but I see no benefit in rushing it! Which reminds me that I have to go out and buy my Christmas tree this weekend. And it won't be some plastic job from Wal-Mart; it'll be an evergreen from some tree farmer holed up in his trailer trying to make a buck off a renewable, local, garden product.