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With the coming of the 90s, the number and sophistication of computers in America's homes, schools, and workplaces increased dramatically. As more and more materials became available in electronic format, nervous pundits asked: "Will the book become obsolete?" Careful documentary work by yearbook and library staff has enabled us to put together this penetrating exploration of how the struggle for supremacy between books and computers played out in the Uni library over a pivotal decade.
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| This photo of two Uni students from the early 90s didn't bode well for the future of reading. There are books in the picture, sure, but the students seem much more excited by their forbidden Coke and bagels. Can we blame this carefree, antiauthoritarian attitude on exposure to computers? Sure, why not? |
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The beginning of the end??? This picture from 1992 shows a bookshelf completely bare of books. Graduate Assistant Vailey Oehlke was not pleased.* |
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| In 1994 the library made a bold move: out with the card catalog, and in with an early version of the university-wide computerized catalog. Mrs. Harris (then Mrs. Jacobson) did decide keep a bunch of paper on hand, just in case. |
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Halfway through the decade (i.e., 1995), the struggle for supremacy between silicon and cellulose was captured in this photo. The library had two computers, but there were also many people reading Ye Olde Bookes. |
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| 1996. A quick glance at this photo might imply that patrons' research and recreation needs were being met by a rich, eclectic combination of print and electronic materials. However, the expressions of the students reading books (can you say "pining"?) suggest that they'd rather have been on the computer. |
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By 1997, with students' attention spans shortened by MTV and the early Internet, it seems that library staff had to resort to funny hats and simple reading fare to keep students reading.** Notice the mammoth Pentium-II-era hard drive of the staff computer. |
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