The challenge of providing effective documentation delivery mechanisms will be to provide for a range of different purposes, while designing documentation to emphasize the strengths and mitigate the weaknesses of different mechanisms. Effective delivery is thus bound up with careful design. In short, for optimal functionality we need to be able to provide flexibility . Most cataloguers are accustomed to using print resources, so special training in using them is not required. A great deal of information can be printed on a single page, which allows for good general overviews.
People can spread out paper, look at multiple sections and documents simultaneously.
When related or duplicated information changes, it can be very complex to change it everywhere. Readers often don't know if they are looking at the latest information, since earlier versions are still accessible. If a point is not indexed, the only way to find it is to memorize its location in the documentation, ask someone else, or search through everything. To avoid excessive scattering, there is often a certain amount of duplication of information that is covered more fully in other places. When this information changes, it can be very complex to change it everywhere.