ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Fast Facts

Ann Viles

Usability testing of electronic textbooks

→ Graduate students at Ball State University participating in a study of the usability and

“learning” effectiveness of electronic textbooks during spring semester 2002 found “that ‘learning’, evaluated through taking quizzes, was not affected by using eBooks.” Student reactions indicated, however, that the eBooks tested were not as easy to navigate as regular textbooks. “Completing die following tasks was much more difficult widi an eBook as opposed to a textbook: finding a chapter, reviewing a previously read passage, returning to significant or important pages, and finding the appendix. ”

Richard F. Bellaver and Jay Gillette, The Usability of eBook Technology: Practical Issues of an Application of Electronic Textbooks in a Learning Environment, Center for Information & Communication Studies, Ball State University, Aug. 23, 2002. http://publish.bsu.edu/cics/ebook_final_result.asp. Sept. 1, 2002

→ Average faculty salaries in library science

According to the College and University Personnel Association for Human Resources, average salaries for library science faculty on nine- or ten-month contracts last year were $44,206 in private institutions and $56,992 in public institutions. Compared to last year’s report, this is a decrease of 2.6 % in private institutions and an increase of 3.9 % in public institutions. Library science faculty salaries were 26.7 % lower than the average for all fields in private institutions last year ($60,289) and 6.4 % lower in public institutions ($60,893).

"Average Faculty Salaries in Selected Fields at 4-Year Institutions, 2001-2," The Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac 2002-3, August 30, 2002: 31. Last year's report: http://chronide.com/weekly/almanac/2001/ nation/0102703.htm (password required). Sept. 3, 2001

→ 15 million visitors to British Library's Web site

Visits to the British Library’s Web site totaled 15,240,617 in 2001-02 compared to 13,959,800 the previous year; searches on its online catalog rose to 6,876,148 from 6,392,259- Free reference inquiries dropped from 514,934 to 511,769-

Twenty-ninth Annual Report and Accounts 2001-02,The British Library, 2002. http://www.bl.uk/about/ annual/latest.html. Aug. 30, 2002

→ Internet search engine usage

A recent survey by the Pew Internet Project finds that “85% of American Internet users have never used an online search engine to find information on the Web and 29% of Internet users rely on a search engine on a typical day.” Thirty-nine percent of college graduates use a search engine on a typical day.

Search Engines: A Pew Internet Project Data Memo,Pew Internet & American Life, July 3, 2002. http:// www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=64. Sept. 1, 2002

→ Public Libraries in the United States

Recently released data from the National Center for Education Statistics reports “9,094 public libraries (administrative entities)” in die United States in 2000, a slight increase from 9,046 in 1999- The percentage of public libraries having access to the Internet increased from 92 percent to 95 percent. The total number of reference transactions was 291 million, down from 295 million in 1999; total circulation remained at 1.7 billion; and library visits remained at 1.1 billion.

A. Chute, E. Kroe, P. Garner, M. Polcari, and C. J. Ramsey, Public Libraries in the United States: Fiscal Year2000, NCES 2002-344, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, D.C.: 2002. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002308.pdf. Last year's report: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002344.pdf. Sept. 1,2002

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