The fields of library and information science are in a state of transition during which various significant paradigm shifts are taking place. Among the most significant of these shifts is the increasing emphasis upon digital content, which reflects substantial changes in the ways that library and information professionals organize content for accessibility and retrieval. However, various arguments exist to support the continuing necessity for print materials, including the problem of the “digital divide” which continues to hinder access to digital materials, and the problems associated with preserving digital content amidst the rapidly changing mediums of storage. However, a more commonplace issue exists as well: what about the readability of the content? Although the availability of journal articles, for example, in an online, digital format, decreases the logistical costs associated with accessing said journal articles, many information consumers will retrieve journal articles in a digital format, and then print articles (which can easily be 30-40 pages in length) in order to be able to read comfortably, in paper form, and to avoid eye strain and various other physical maladies that are associated with extensive time spent gazing at a computer screen. Therefore, while digital “containers” of content increase accessibility and facilitate efficiency in retrieval, the question that remains is whether a “preference for paper”, at least for reading, is a function of individual human factors, and therefore will persist, independent of shifts towards digital content and containers.
How likely is it that consumers of information will become increasingly capable of and willing to read content solely in a digital format? If many consumers of information still print out lengthy articles, book chapters, and web pages in order to read them, then are the benefits of digital delivery limited to easier access and retrieval?
