Many are published by the government which is converting from paper to electronic distribution. At present, researchers need to take paper copies into the field. I am interested in the problem of scanning medieval manuscripts in such a way that a researcher would be able to both read the content, but also study the scribe's hand, special markings, etc. A related issue is that of transmitting such images over the network. Increasingly the government is using the WWW as a tool for disemination of information.
Printing does retain the formatting.
None of these options allows transfer to statistical programs. And while this information is useful for the typical library researcher, who usually have a very distinct information need, the investment in what it would take to put this information is a usable format is often too much trouble. The problem is making the option attractive to the user and in a format that doesn't require a great deal of investment by the user. Moving Image Archive houses USC student film and video productions dating from the1930s to current productions in the School of Cinema-Television. Moving image materials in multiple formats, specialized viewing equipment, limited storage space, and complex access needs create challenges that may be solved with new computer technologies.