Recently many four-year colleges have stopped publishing annuals or yearbooks. Yearbooks have been common college fare for the past century, but rising publication costs, student disinterest and online social networking have all led to the decline of the annual. One estimate concludes that only 1,100 of about 2,500 four-year colleges produce yearbooks.

Interestingly, although social networking Web sites like Facebook are being blamed by some for the demise of the yearbook at the college level, high school students who are equally as active on such sites are still interested in purchasing school annuals (John Austin, "More Colleges Closing the Book on Yearbooks," McClatchy Newspapers, Aug. 15, 2008).

Some experts surmise that large university populations and off-campus activities divert student interest from a common, small-college life that once was. Still, in a historical light, a book on the shelf is probably more accessible and longer lasting than the rapidly changing updates on a networking site.