U. to explore publishing some documents online only

Last week, Harvard announced that it will no longer print paper copies of its course catalog and several other administrative publications, a move that will save the university “tens of thousands of dollars,” according to The Harvard Crimson.

Harvard’s course catalog, as well as faculty and student handbooks and the course evaluations guide, will be posted and updated exclusively on the internet beginning next fall.

Malkiel said Princeton may consider following suit. “We’ll be looking carefully at the question of which publications require print and which can simply be put online,” she explained.

Projecting a 30 percent decline in the University’s endowment, the administration is reducing its spending more drastically than originally anticipated, President Tilghman said in an e-mail to the University community on Monday.

These economic circumstances outlined by Tilghman “compel” the University to reconsider its current printing practices, Malkiel said.

The reduction of printed materials also has potential environmental benefits for Princeton, and sustainability is also a consideration in the University’s decision-making, Malkiel noted.

OIT customer support manager Leila Shahbender explained that the University’s interest in reducing its printing began significantly before the onset of the current economic recession.

“Its roots actually grow out of sustainability,” she noted, adding that ideally the University would include both printed and online materials on campus.

“There is a place for both the digital media and the paper media,” she said. “We just need to look at everything to determine what the right way to represent the information is.”

University Director of Purchasing Donald Weston said in an e-mail that Princeton is considering forgoing publishing certain documents in paper form altogether. The University’s Cost Cutting Working Group is contemplating a recommendation that items such as newsletters and pamphlets be made available online exclusively, he said.

But the University does not yet have concrete plans about what paper publications, if any, will be eliminated, Malkiel said.

Publications issued by the University include the 549-page Undergraduate Announcement and “Quintessentially Princeton,” a 212-page compilation of pieces describing past senior theses that was distributed to members of the junior class this week.

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Students expressed mixed opinions about a switch to web-only course catalogs and University documentation.

Ruthie Nachmany ’12 said that she finds print copies of University materials unnecessary because she reads everything online anyway.

“All the stuff we get at the beginning of the year ... I just put it in a file,” she said. “I never really looked at Rights, Rules, [Responsibilities].”

Stephen Pollard ’12, however, said that printing documents like the course catalog on paper, is essential

“I like to circle courses that I’m interested in or certain programs, perhaps certificate programs,” he explained. “I like to mark in the books. I like that instead of having to copy and paste from the website.”

Still, there are substantial environmental benefits to printing less, Forbes College director of studies and Sustainability Committee member Patrick Caddeau said, adding that he “would love to see Princeton reduce paper printing and continue to expand the online publication of documents.”