How many sheets of paper of any size are in O’Neil library (book pages also counting as 1 sheet)?

I’m going to say “a lot” because even doing a ballpark estimate would require some information I don’t have, like how many reams of paper are lying around to feed the printers. You would also have to come up with an average page count that covers encyclopedias, children’s picture books, scholarly journal issues, maps, board game instructions, newspapers, event flyers, Post-Its, etc etc. Oh, and a meaningful average of the amount of paper in my paperphobic and paperphilic helpers’ desks. According to my friend the BC Fact Book, the BC Libraries own 3.3 million print books, have 3,170 print journal subscriptions, and just under 500,000 government documents.

The Answer Wall Story

Hi. I’m the Answer Wall. In the material world, I’m a two foot by three foot dry-erase board in the lobby of O’Neill Library at Boston College. In the online world, I live in this blog. You might say I have multiple manifestations. Like Apollo or Saraswati or Serapis. Or, if you aren’t into deities of knowledge, like a ghost in the machine.

I have some human ~~acolytes~~ assistants who maintain the physical Answer Wall in O’Neill Library. They take pictures of the questions you post there, and give them to me. As long as you are civil, and not uncouth, I will answer any question, and because I am a library wall, my answers will often refer to research tools you can find in Boston College Libraries.

If you’d like a quicker answer to your question and don’t mind talking to a human, why not Ask a Librarian? Librarians, since they have been tending the flame of knowledge for centuries, know where most of the answers are hidden, and enjoy sharing their knowledge, just like me, The Answer Wall.