Some years ago in a large and decentralized university library system there were twelve subscriptions to Chemical Abstracts. It was felt by some to be rather extravagant to have so many subscriptions, but no group of users was willing to give up their own and have to walk across the campus to use some other copy. In the event it required the personal attention of the university president to achieve a reduction in subscriptions. In this, paper as an information technology differs from computers. Paper is also an isolated technology.
Books lend themselves to being used by only person at a time.
Again, this differs radically from computer technology. When using an online catalog one does even know how many other people, if any, are using the catalog at the same time. Some implications of technological change Both the nature of the limitations of traditional library technology and some consequences of the introduction of new technology can be briefly illustrated by reviewing some aspects of current library service. With machine-readable texts and images, prompt and convenient access no longer depends on the materials being stored locally, though it may well be sensible to store a copy locally depending on size, cost, usage, telecommunications, and other technical considerations. In brief, the new technology removes the constraint of localness that dominates with the technology of paper.