ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

Fast Facts

Ann Viles

The Internet Archive

The collections of the Internet Archive include 10 billion Web pages dating back to 1996. Digital storage for all the archive’s collections (Web, Usenet, archival movies, and Arpanet historical documentation) totals more than 100 terabytes.

("The Internet Archive: Building an 'Internet Library'." http://www.archive.org/. Nov. 1, 2001)

Book auction record

Four complete editions of Shakespeare’s plays dating from 1623 to 1685 were auctioned at Christie’s on October 10 for more than $14 million, a record price for a work by Shakespeare and a world auction record for a 17th-century book.

(Michael Beach, "World Record $14m for the Bard's Plays," The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), October 11,2001. LEXIS NEXIS Academic Universe. Nov. 2, 2001)

Performing arts library

The collection of the recently renovated New York Public Library of the Performing Arts contains 9 million items, including sound recordings, videotapes, manuscripts, sheet music, costume designs, posters, set designs, and photographs.

(Judie Glave, "Performing Arts Library to Reopen," The Record, Oct. 28, 2001. http://www.bergen.com/region/ nyperf20011028.htm. Oct. 31, 2001)

Google indexes invisible Web

Google, which began indexing Adobe Acrobat PDF files in January and now provides access to more than 22 million PDF files, is beginning to include other non-html file types in its Web index. The new file types (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Rich Text Format, and PostScript) “make up a small but important part of the Invisible web, and Google’s effort to make them searchable is a noteworthy advance in search engine technology.”

(Chris Sherman, "Google Unveils More of the Invisible Web," SearchDay no. 128 (Oct. 31, 2001). http:// searchenginewatch.com/searchday/01/sd1031-google-files.html. Nov. 2, 2001)

Usage of print journals

A five-year study of print journal use recently completed by the Library of the Health Sciences-Peoria found a significant decrease in the usage of print journals since more than 4,000 online journals became accessible to its students and faculty in 1999.

(Sandra L. De Groote and Josephine L. Dorsch, "Online Journals: Impact on Print Journal Usage," Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 89, no. 4 (Oct. 2001): 372-78. PubMed Central, http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/ articlerender.fcgi?artid=57966. Oct. 31, 2001)

IMLS grants fund for library and information science resear

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded more than $1.3 million dollars to fund library and information science research projects proposed by the Illinois State Library, Indiana University, St. Louis Public Library, University of Illinois-Urbana- Champaign, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the Council on Library and Information Resources.

(Institute of Museum and Library Services, "Hi-Tech Research Funded for Seven American Libraries," http:// www.imls.gov/whatsnew/current/092501-5.htm. Nov. 2, 2001)

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