Tech Forum

We have a 2 old manual Alder typewriters taking up space in the clerks office. I checked with the Bishop as to disposing of them, he was ok with it. Do I need to check with physical facilities also? How about a broken file cabinet?

Are you wanting to have the file cabinet replaced? If so, I would contact FM.

Either way, it wouldn't hurt to run things by them.

I once used those old Alders along the way, they were great in their day.

Once you do get an all-clear to dispose of them, check around town, sometimes there are places (business machines stores for example) that take them for various reasons and sometimes even give you a modest amount for them.

Yes, check with FM.

rodarlint wrote:We have a 2 old manual Alder typewriters taking up space in the clerks office. I checked with the Bishop as to disposing of them, he was ok with it. Do I need to check with physical facilities also? How about a broken file cabinet?

The responsibility to not only maintain the facilities but to coordinate equipment maintenance is handled by the FM group.
You should check with them before you remove, repair or toss these. Although it's unlikely that anyone else will want them, often the FM group has a specific way of handling items that are being recycled. Check with them.

Come to think of it, these Adlers were standard issue typewriters at least in Arizona where I saw them. They would eventually start using IBM Selectrics as they could get the special OCR font (those used removable balls where you could change not only the pitch but the typeface by simply putting in a different ball) which was used for preparing the tithing and donations report taht was mailed in at the time to Salt Lake.

I've not seen either in a clerk's office in many years, I think the last typewriters went about the time the first computers and MIS came into the picture.

Yes, the FM group will likely know what to do with these especially if they are in good working order still. Including who might be able to take them as far as third-party companies that still have needs for them for clients.

You also might want to check with the local Jr. High and High Schools if their business teachers would want them. Yes, I know we are in the 21st Century, however as a business teacher myself I have wanted to get my hands on a manual typerwriter to be able to show my keyboarding students they way it works. It helps to explain why we have the QWERTY keyboard, plus why we have tab stops. They of course might not want them in your neck of the woods, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

What's a typewriter? Is it some kind of Rube Goldberg contraption that has a huge number of pieces that are all interconnected to make some fairly simple thing happen after a lot of movement and often noise?

If I may tack onto an old thread, many clerks in my stake are wondering what to do with their typewriters. Are there any standard church forms that require the use of a typewriter?

I am thinking of the multi-part form we use for the stake conference report. Do we need a typewriter for that form?

drepouille wrote:Do we need a typewriter for that form?

The boxes are big enough and few enough on that form that we normally just print very neatly. And I have heard that some stake presidents have asked for and received an electronic version to complete.

I am not aware of any form any longer that actually requires a typewriter.