The tech news I came across this week is about a device called the reMarkable. It is a digital paper tablet for "paper people." As a librarian, I very much know what it means to be a paper person. I just work better when I write things down on paper. I even still have a 9x12 paper appointment calendar that I take with me everywhere. Yes, I enter dates on my phone as well, but nothing keeps me organized like paper. I also know I am not alone. You could Google (or better yet do scholarly research) on the fact that even the millennial generation loves paper, as much as they also love their phones.

Many studies have been done on the benefits of handwriting notes to increase comprehension. The reMarkable tablet uses "canvas screen" technology, so it feels and responds more like paper than any other notebook or tablet on the market. "There are few tablets out there with less functionality than reMarkable, but the things that it is made for, it does better than anyone else" (getremarkable.com). Most platforms of documents as well as many eBooks and textbooks can be uploaded to reMarkable by wifi, and then you treat them just like paper books in that you can annotate with your "pencil" and the world's fastest digital ink. The notes you take can be saved digitally in various "notebooks" and printed out or edited and manipulated.

I can see so many "library" applications for this technology, but especially in an Academic setting. This is yet another tool we can provide to enhance the learning experience for our patrons. Especially those who visit the library because they just -- love -- paper.