Long Live Paper is a New York Times opinion piece by Justin B. Hollander that puts forth the non-sexy idea that print on paper deserves to be with us a while longer, at least when it comes to textbooks. He takes Education Secretary Arne Duncan to task for promoting the “idea of replacing an effective learning platform (print textbooks) with a widely hyped but still unproven one (e-readers and multimedia Web sites).
Mr. Hollander does not discount the important benefits offered by the digitization of information. But he extols the virtues inherent in paper and print and argues that their abandonment is something we might live to regret. He insists that “we shouldn’t jump at a new technology simply because it has advantages; only time and study will reveal its disadvantages and show the value of what we’ve left behind.” He voices similar concerns about the “effects of digital reading on learning.”
Admittedly, he is bucking the current trend but he raises concerns that deserve to be addressed.
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