Every publication that I read lately includes articles on the ongoing revolution in information technology. Whether it be a discussion of the nation's new Information Superhighway, the exponential growth of LANs, WANs and gateways, or the Electronic Library, all suggest that the traditional role that books have played in education, recreation and business will be affected. Huge corporations such as IBM, Sony, AT&T, Microsoft and others are positioning themselves to take advantage of the public's desire to access information electronically through their computer or TV from their home or office. It is already possible to have instant communication via E-mail with colleagues all over the world. Electronic bulletin boards available on the Internet have changed the way professionals do business.

To illustrate the power of this technology, I will relate a story that I heard at a seminar at Harvard on the Future of Libraries. An American student in Russia was unable to locate research materials. He resolved his dilemma by dialing up Harvard's On-line Catalog via the Internet to find the information that he needed--from half-way around the world.

The cost of computers, databases, software and networks has been dropping rapidly while the power and availability of these technologies have been growing. Today's scholars, scientists and business people demand the convenience that electronic information makes possible. Portable computers, appropriately called "PowerBooks", equipped with modems and faxes enable anyone (with the skill and the money) to have tremendous resources at their fingertips. As information is digitized, compressed, backed-up and ultimately downloaded and laser printed, what will happen to society's need for books?

In recent years book manufacturing has seen tremendous growth. Books and journals have proliferated beyond the resources of every library or institution to collect them. In many cases books must be stored in remote facilities because existing libraries have run out of storage space and new open stack storage is cost prohibitive. As new scientific breakthroughs are made, they encourage further research. The rise of cross-discipline studies has spawned new publications. Computers have not only made information more readily available to readers, they are partly responsible for the exponential growth of the pool of new information. Desktop publishing, powerful word processors and sophisticated scanning and imaging systems have reduced the cost and technical difficulty of producing high-quality publications. The time necessary to go from concept to finished product continues to compress.

Will library binders have a role in this rapidly approaching world? I believe that we will. Library binders are essentially demand binders for the shortest run possible--a single book. Today's library binding company processes a book through more than 40 individual operations in anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. You might ask, why does it take two to four weeks for a binding shipment to come back from the bindery? The answer is simple. Binders keep a backlog at each of the forty work stations so that employees will never have idle time. In recent years binders have been automating the production line to reduce the necessary backlogs required for efficient manufacturing. The incentive for binders to accelerate the automation of the bindery will increase. This will enable binders to shrink process time and reduce cost. The explosion of information, the necessity of remote storage of original material and society's requirement for rapid access will create new markets for library binders.

Whereas library binders once were challenged to produce bindings that were utilitarian and would last indefinitely surviving rugged use, binders of the near future may be asked to produce bindings that enhance the use of the printed material. It is probably safe to say that many bindings found in libraries protect the book but make it difficult for the user to read that book. This is because narrow margins and stiff cross-grain papers are not well-suited to good binding structure. In the future, demand-printed texts produced for binding can circumvent these limitations and bindings will enhance use.

It is likely that tomorrow's library binder will have equipment such as the Xerox Docutech enabling demand printing of information stored on a remote database. Binders will print out these materials and bind them according to patron requirements. Binders may become an adjunct to the bookstore or may be a substitute for the bookstore. Although many demand printed texts will be bound with simple methods such as staples or plastic combs, there will probably be a large market for more attractive, durable bindings. In some respects this represents a return to the practices of the middle ages when private binders would custom bind a volume for wealthy patrons.

I believe that the traditional market for library binding of books and periodicals will not disappear. Cost of this expensive and ever-changing technology will limit the ability of all libraries to abandon traditional print markets. Unresolved issues of intellectual property law regarding copyright and fee for use will delay paperless publishing. Fairness issues relating to creation of a dual class society where only the rich or technologically capable have access to our intellectual and cultural heritage must be addressed. Many reasons argue for the continued co-existence of printed and electronic information.

Publisher's bindings are not likely to ever meet the long-term use needs of library materials. Library binding of paperback editions of monographs will continue to be a money saving/quality enhancing strategy for libraries. Demand printing (where pages are printed one at a time at relatively slow speed) will never be cost competitive with modern offset or web printing presses (where 16 or 32 pages are printed at a time on one sheet at very high speed). Demand printing will satisfy the needs of impatient users who are willing to pay a premium for convenience. Traditional printing will continue to satisfy the needs of the mass market. Library binders will have a place in both markets.

Television has not replaced radio. Movies have not replaced theater. Word processors, computers and databases have not brought about the paperless office. On the contrary there is more paper being printed than ever before--and there is more binding than ever before. Book stores are springing up everywhere and reading is still a necessity as well as a popular pastime. It is commonly agreed that microfilm readers have never been popular with library patrons. I think that it is unlikely that anyone will ever want to sit in front of a computer screen and read if they have an alternative. Reading from computer screens is not enjoyable and it probably is quite unhealthy. As more and more information is stored electronically, the market for demand printing and binding will grow. Technology brings opportunity along with change. I see library binders as well positioned to take advantage of the coming revolution in information access and distribution.

As binders scramble to fill quick binding niches (just as quick printers have responded to changes in their market) there is increasing need for an industry-wide trade association. The LBI provides a forum for binders to work together with machinery manufacturers, materials suppliers and librarians to expand the market for binding services and to improve the value of products manufactured. Customers demand certain baseline service from any vendor that they do business with. Friendly service, complete shipments, error-free lettering of titles, sound binding structure and a full complement of products are taken for granted. Binders differentiate themselves from the competition by providing enhanced service. The LBI is an essential partner in the development of these enhanced services. The proper inclusion of these new services in the LBI Standard for Library Binding will encourage equipment manufacturers to focus on a uniform market and thereby speed along its development. The formula for success that has worked since the 1930's (cooperative effort by intimately interested groups) increases in importance as the pace of change accelerates. Teamwork has always made sense.

Paul Parisi, President
Acme Bookbinding