My 2 c's on this, for what its worth...
The first thing is that the Yearbook is not a
catalog - it is a membership publication. Paperwork reduction is sensible in business, but the Exchange side of SSE is not a business - it is a
service that the non-profit is obligated to provide to its members. In the case of Carolyn & other Life Members, this is a service they have already paid for in advance, and they deserve to be treated in good faith.
There was a lot of initial confusion regarding the policy change. The Fall notice stated that members would only receive a print copy of the Yearbook if they specifically requested it - and then only if they had subscribed at the $50.00 level. Another notice (I think it was an email) stated that Listed Members would still automatically receive a print Yearbook. I too contacted SSE, they verified that I would be receiving a copy (which arrived last month).
Comparing the print Yearbook to the online exchange is problematic, because it is not an apples-to-apples comparison. To me, the print version is a permanent record of past exchanges, to which I often refer when researching the history of a particular variety. Thus far, the online version has proven to be unreliable in that aspect... wish that were not the case. As has been demonstrated in recent years, print is permanent, digital is too vulnerable to sudden & complete loss. To resolve this issue, SSE should offer the Yearbook as a .pdf (or some other downloadable format) which would remain regardless of any IT issues SSE may have in the future.
There are other problems with the Yearbook this year. Much of the previously-entered source info has simply disappeared. It appears that the 'source' field in the online exchange is now absent - and the print version derives from the digital version. SSE has also decided to change its listings from the crop type which has always been used (TOMATO 1234) to accession numbers, which will create an added wrinkle when following chain of custody.
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But,in addition when I was told that last year there were about 700 listed members and for this year only 400,that raised alarm bells for me and for other members who are still good friends and always will be .
Fact is that SSE has changed considerably in recent years,I enumerated those changes in another thread here at Tville.
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Jaw dropping.
The older founding members have been slowly dropping out, but that doesn't account for such a steep decline. The constant instability, and loss of rapport with the membership, are obviously having an impact.