ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

Ann ViIes: Fast Facts

Library of Congress bicentennial

The Library of Congress (LC) celebrated its 200th birthday on April 24. With collections totaling almost 119 million items, LC is the “largest library in the world.” ("Fascinating Facts about the Library of Congress," The Library Today, http://www.loc.gov/today/fascinate.html. 25 Apr. 2000)

Internet vs. libraries

A survey of 1,014 households commissioned by the Round Table Group, a consortium of university professors in Chicago, “found that 67 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 live in households that use the Internet to gather key information … 84 percent of 18 to 24-year-old Internet users say that their household is more likely to use the Internet to retrieve useful information than they are to go to the public library.”

("America's Young Adults Turn to Net," Cyber Atlas, http://cyberatlas.internet.com/big_picture/demographics/article/0,1323,5901_339721,00.html. Apr. 25, 2000)

Benchmarks for distance education

A recent study by the Institute for Higher Education Policy resulted in “a list of 24 benchmarks that are essential to ensure quality in Internet-based distance education.” Several of the benchmarks are directly related to libraries.

(The Institute for Higher Education Policy, "Quality On The Line: Benchmarks for Success in Internet-Based Distance Education." http://www.ihep.com/quality.pdf. Apr. 25, 2000)

2,500 public domain e-texts

Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.net/), founded by Michael Hart in 1971, will post 2,500 public domain e-texts this year. Gutenberg’s more than 1,0 volunteers may select any title published before 1922 to add to the list. Hart is seeking funding to add another 7,500 titles before the project’s 30th anniversary next year.

(Sam Weller, "Project Gutenberg sets 10,000 book goal," Publishers Weekly, Apr. 3, 2000: 42)

Library graduates pursue nontraditional jobs

Most graduates from the University of Michigan’s School of Information, formerly the library school, will be looking for jobs as information architects and intelligence managers rather than as librarians. “While some of Michigan’s recent graduates still pursue traditional library jobs, the numbers who do so are shrinking—down from 58 percent in 1997 to about 33 percent last year, according to estimates.”

(Katherine S. Mangan, "In revamped library schools, information trumps books," Chronicle of Higher Education, Apr. 7, 2000: A43-A44)

Accredited “library” schools

Nine out of the 56 master’s programs currently accredited by the ALA do not have the word library in their names: University of California/Los Angeles, Florida State University, University of Michigan, University of Missouri-Columbia, Syracuse University, University at Albany/State University of New York, Drexel University, University of Pittsburgh, and University of Tennessee.

("Directory of Institutions Offering Accredited Master's Programs," American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oa/progindx.html. Apr. 25, 2000)

Thanks to Mike Hanson, reference librarian at Western Wisconsin Technical College, for his contributions and suggestions.

Ann Viles is coordinator of reference and instruction at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, e-mail: vilesea@conrad.appstate.edu