A Paperless World

“When I was your age and we needed to know something, we looked for it in books…books!”

Sorry Mom, but I never have spent hours in the library searching for facts and I doubt I ever will. I strive for efficiency, simplicity, and ease when completing tasks, and luckily for me, a paperless world allows for all of the above. Benefits within the workplace and education have spawned new industries and even legislation. However, a paperless world will not, and should not, be the future. While the digitization of important documents such as healthcare records is a necessity, there is something personal, something unmatched, about receiving a thoughtful letter in the mail, perusing the shelves of a bookstore, or wiping the newsprint ink off of your fingers before starting your day.

The Paperless Office

The term “paperless office” has been thrown around for a while now. A paperless office is simply one that operates with its records and files saved digitally, using cumbersome paper versions only when necessary. The prospect of going digital for businesses presents many opportunities for improved efficiency, communication, and results. The healthcare industry is a perfect example.

In a paperless healthcare system, a patient’s medical records would be uploaded to a central health care information server. This means they can be accessed via the Internet from anywhere. Regardless of whether they’re at their local hospital or one across the country, the doctors can pull up their medical records immediately and know, for example, that since they have a certain precondition, they can’t be given a certain medicine. This allows for expedient treatment, bypassing the steps of contacting their doctor, faxing over their records, and so on.  These benefits have not gone unnoticed; the Health Insurance Portability and Privacy Act (HIPAA) has made electronic files a regulatory requirement.

In addition to the health care industry, the advantages of a paper-free office are applicable to innumerable businesses. There are the  highly publicized ecological benefits, but a paperless office also offers a multitude of other benefits.

• Lower Costs: Companies save thousands on printing, mailing, paper, and storage space.
• Easier Access to Information: Electronic documents can be accessed much more quickly than their printed and filed counterparts. This enables employees to find or edit information with greater ease.
• Document Security: Especially in the healthcare industry, encrypted files provide an extra security measure for confidential information.
• Ease of Information Sharing: Just as medical records can be accessed anywhere, electronic documents can be sent quickly and easily by anyone.

Transitioning to a paperless office can be a daunting task, but it is an inevitable reality. It allows for an interconnectivity never experienced before, improving communication and efficiency of practice by too great of a margin to be ignored.

Education

Scribble-ridden textbooks and dilapidated versions of Catcher in the Rye have become the norm in public high schools. In addition to the poor quality books, having to carry multiple textbooks is a tremendous inconvenience and, in some cases, can present health risks. Many publishers offer online versions of textbooks, but school districts have been slow to adopt them.

CourseSmart, an online retailer for these eTextbooks, offers downloadable versions of over 6,000 titles from major publishers. McGraw-Hill, one of the largest publishers, publishes almost 95% of its books electronically. These books can be read on a computer or iPhone, or an eBook reader such as the Amazon Kindle. With all of this in place, why hasn’t education switched over to digital books?

Amazon's Kindle sells for $259, while its larger Kindle DX sells for $489

First, the initial savings associated with choosing eTextbooks over hard copies is not overwhelming. On top of that, regular textbooks can be kept forever and resold, while many of the online retailers set expiration dates on their purchases.

There is also no standard format or device for students and schools to adopt. With a plethora of devices capable of reading eBooks, there are worries over compatibility issues. Amazon has partnered with several major universities (including Princeton, University, Case Western, Arizona State, and Reed College) to make digital textbooks available on its Kindle DX. However, several new companies including Barnes and Noble and Sony offer digital book readers, only crowding the field further.

Educational institutions and business have much to reconcile if eTextbooks are to appear in every school. Most likely a standard device and format must be determined if they are to efficiently implement an electronic textbook system. The educational motivation, however, remains strong. Electronic textbooks are useful and undeniably convenient and can display multimedia supplements to the standard text.

Paper’s Place

Many of the advantages of going paperless pertain to increased efficiency: retrieving information as quickly as possibly, accessed without hassle. In a home office, the appeal of a paperless environment is understandable, but a completely digitized home is less than comforting. Personally, I honed my reading skilled with the sports section of the New York Times which was always left out on the table at breakfast. There’s something to be said for flipping through magazines delivered in the mail or while waiting at a doctor’s office. Reading online or on a Kindle does not offer the tactile satisfaction I and many others look forward too while flipping through the thick pages of a good book. Although I may not spend hours in the library scavenging for information, I have not, and never will, find a digital equivalent to the magic of curling up and getting lost in the weighty pages of Harry Potter.

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