If you thought handwritten college tests had gone the way of the rotary phone, you might have to think again. Roaring Spring Paper Products in Blair County has seen an upswing in demand for its Blue Books — old-fashioned paper booklets students write their answers in during tests. One possible reason? Outsmarting artificial intelligence.
Kristen Allen, vice president of sales and marketing at Roaring Spring Paper Products, gave a tour of the company's cavernous plant filled with complex, perfectly-timed machinery.
“They will use what they call a guillotine cutter to cut large stacks of paper into whatever size we need it. And from there again, that paper can go to a spiral machine to make a notebook. It can go to a comp book machine. It can go to be glued into a legal pad. It can go to be made into a Blue Book," explained Allen.
Rolls, switches and conveyor belts turn reams of paper into everything from standard composition books to customized notebooks, some with decorations and others with official university logos. And the humble Blue Book.
“It's just a very simple book, a few sheets of paper stapled together with a blue cover, and on the front it gives you a place to put your name, you know, the course section, the date," Allen said.
The Blue Book may bring back fond memories — or unpleasant ones — for test-takers of years past. Either way, those Blue Books may be making a comeback, as professors look for ways to make sure the answers they’re getting on tests are from their students, not AI.
“Anecdotally, we have customers telling us it's because the professors are requesting Blue Books again," Allen said. "They are going away from the online exam or the typed exam, because they want students to be forced to use their own work.”
Sales of Roaring Spring’s Blue Books sank in 2020 when the COVID pandemic hit and classes went online. Business started to get better in 2022, and then really saw an upswing in 2023 and 2024. Allen said sales are not back to pre-pandemic levels yet, but they are gaining ground.
That’s playing out in State College at the Student Book Store across the street from Penn State.
Thad Johnson, general manager, said Blue Book sales there increased — by almost 75% between 2022 and 2023. And for the most part that trend is continuing. In 2024, he said, sales were about the same with a slight dip, and this year is on pace with last year.
“It just seems like more instructors are using the Blue Books for the exams," Johnson said.
He said sometimes the staff at the Student Book Store assist students who come into the store not exactly sure what they’re looking for.
“Some of the underclassmen, they don’t even know what it is. They come in asking for a book, an exam book," Johnson said. "‘Oh, yeah, a Blue Book to take an essay exam?’ Yeah, yeah, that’s it.”
Allen said Roaring Spring has embraced technological changes since it began back in 1887. It’s a sixth-generation family-owned business — seventh if you count Allen’s son who’s helping out this summer.
“We electrified the plant at one point," she said. "I actually have one of our catalogs from 1910, and the way you took orders was by telegraph.”
Now, they even have a robot, named Rosie, to assist with heavy lifting.
Allen does see the irony that the rise of AI is actually helping sell an old fashioned paper test-taking booklet.
“The very thing that took away the use of the Blue Book, which is technology," she said, "is the thing that's helping bring it back."
