Here is an interesting article from Malcolm Gladwell on how we use paper. Basically paper is great for socializing work, but tough to archive.
The solution to our paper problem, they write, is not to use less paper but to keep less paper. Why bother filing at all? Everything we know about the workplace suggests that few if any knowledge workers ever refer to documents again once they have filed them away, which should come as no surprise, since paper is a lousy way to archive information.