From Memory To Memorex*: Storage Devices in Libraries

I will not deny that prior to enrolling in LIMS 5025, I did not think much of the inner workings of technology or what technology really is, for that matter. To me, technology in the library meant CD players, TVs and VCRs, electronic pencil sharpeners and a few computers here and there. I am not being facetious when I say that never in a million years, or even in the couple thousand that it has been around, would I have considered paper a type of technology. The first page of Chapter 7 in John Burke's Neal-Schuman Library Technology Companion spelled it out--paper is technology that is used as a storage device. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that, yes, paper helps us keep records of our every day thoughts and ideas, the law and other vital information. Simply stated, paper stores, or holds, that information. Think back to when you made an agreement with someone or made a purchase at a store. It is likely that you wrote out the details of your mutual arrangement or got a receipt at the end of the transaction. How many of us have kept a “paper trail” of the bills we have paid or of the friendly letters we have received?

Aside from paper as seen in books, important government documents, maps and so on, there are numerous other storage devices used in libraries. I recall my graduate school years spending countless afternoons at the Harold Washington Library in downtown Chicago searching through microfiche, sheets of miniaturized text or images, to find historical sociological studies to supplement my research. Checking out DVDs instead of going to the movies helped me stay within my grad student budget.  There is a very small collection of books on CD in my school library; I have far more VHSes, or videocassettes, than DVDs, but I am in the process of replacing the former with the latter. The slow, but sure, use of flash drives and digital cameras is taking place in the library and throughout the school.  Students are becoming more involved in writing their own books, working for the school newspaper and creating and documenting their science fair projects.

Because of the number of people who work at and attend my school, there is so much information that needs to be disseminated.  There is so little time to meet as a unit. Also, the increasing cost of photocopying so many documents has led us to turn toward writing notes to each other and attaching files for review via the storage device most frequently used by faculty and staff:  e-mail.  Getting someone to respond to a question—and having a record of having asked the question—as well as connecting others with resources without having stacks of documents piled up on a desk in front of them has been made so much easier with this electronic way of sending mail that actually predates the Internet.

Whether it’s a book, a computer’s hard drive or an MP3 player loaded with our favorite rock tunes, storage devices have become an integral part of our lives. They save us time and money on a daily basis. They also do pretty good job of helping us leave our artifacts to posterity.

*A company that specializes in recordable media products like CDs and DVDs.