ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Fast Facts

Ann Viles

→ Unaffiliated users in academic libraries

Of the 527 academic libraries responding to a national survey in winter 2001, 88.9 percent indicated that they allow unrestricted building access to any unaffiliated users and 18.4 percent grant borrowing privileges to any unaffiliated users.

Nancy Courtney, “Unaffiliated Users’ Access to Academic Libraries: A Survey,” Journal of Academic Librarianship 29.1 (Jan. 2003): 3-7

→ Administrators’ salaries: 2002-03

Median salaries for directors of library services at all higher education institutions increased 5.7 percent from $66,990 in 2001-02 to $70,840 in 2002-03. Median salaries for acquisitions librarians increased 6.5 percent to $49,186, chief technical-services librarians increased 5.5 percent to $50,177, and chief public-services librarians increased 5.9 percent to $51,896.

“Medium Salaries of College Administrators by Type of Institution, 2001-02,” Chronicle of Higher Education, Apr. 12,2002: A33; ”Medium Salaries of College Administrators by Type of Institution, 2002-03,” Chronicle of Higher Education, Apr. 11,2003: A38

→ Faculty salaries: 2002-03

The American Association of University Professors annual economic study for 2002- 03 reports an average salary increase of 3-0 percent for faculty in all ranks.

Ronald G. Ehrenberg, ”Unequal Progress: The Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2002-03,” Academe: Bulletin of the American Association of University Professors 89.2 (March-April 2003): 21—33

→ ERIC usage

Lawrence M. Rudner at the University of Maryland Department of Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation has developed a procedure for estimating usage statistics for databases distributed through miscellaneous public and private organizations. Applying this methodology to the ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) database, Rudner makes a “conservative estimate” that the ERIC database of over one million records is searched 7,225,000 times per month, or 86 million times per year.

Lawrence M. Rudner, ”How Many People Search the ERIC Database Each Day?” D-Lib Magazine 9.4 (April 2003). http://www.dlib.org/dlib/april03/rudner/04rudner.html. May 4,2003

→ Demographic predictors of Internet use

A recent Pew Internet study finds only 58 percent of Americans use the Internet. According to the study, the following “demographic factors are strong predictors of Internet use: having a college degree, being a student, being white, being employed, and having a comfortable household income.”

Amanda Lenhart, et al., The Ever-Shifting Internet Population: A New Look at Internet Access and the Digital Divide, Pew Internet & American Life Project, April 16, 2003. http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/pdfs/ PIP_Shifting_Net_Pop_Report.pdf. May 4,2003

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