A tradition … or outdated idea?
June 5, 2009 by Geneva ReidPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Student Life
Is the college yearbook becoming a relic of the past?
When a mere 300 students purchased Bowling Green State’s yearbook last year, the school decided it was time to call it quits.
The number is even more dismal when you consider sales reached 3,600 back in the 1980s.
And Bowling Green isn’t alone.
Purdue University didn’t have one this year – after putting one out for more than a century. The University of Arizona and Loyola University Chicago also have said good-bye to yearbooks.
Why are students losing interest in yearbooks? Is it because they’re more focused on social networking? Are yearbooks simply not cool anymore?
A logical explanation would be that the cost is hurting their popularity. Yet students aren’t picking up their yearbooks even when their parents already paid for them.
And putting the yearbooks in other formats doesn’t seem to be helping either. Students remain disinterested when the yearbook is a DVD.
Did your school put out a yearbook this year? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Tags: Bowling Green State, Loyola University Chicago, Purdue University, University of Arizona, yearbook
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June 10th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Penn State published a 500+ page book this year. We also digitized the past yearbooks (1890-2000), see http://www.libraries.psu.edu/digital/lavie/. The most frequent regret/comment from alumni reviewing the pages, “Why didn’t I have my photo taken? I should have done it. Now I have nothing to show my children, grandchildren, etc.” I guess age is the determinant about the ultimate value of yearbooks.
June 11th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Who wants a yearbook for a huge school where you knew less than 1% of the total class?
June 11th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
As the Director for Reunion, not having access to data in the yearbook makes reunion very difficult. We are in the process of evaluating; and I add, successfully, changing the face of a traditional yearbook process, but keeping the hard copy book.
June 11th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
@itsalljustaride -
Frankly, I do – our yearbook has won a few prestigious awards in its time. I don’t see any signs of it going away, even in the face of much belt-tightening and cost-cutting.
http://www.michiganyearbook.com/