ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Fast Facts

Ann Viles

Library buildings, additions, and renovations

"This year's 80 new structures and 132 additions/renovations comprise 4,140,250 square feet and cost more than $686 million." Ninety-five percent of the funding for new construction came from loca] governments/library budgets (including bonds and banks) and contributions” The cost per square foot ranged from $55.57 fora 4,150 square-foot facility in Wellton, Arizona, to $315 00 for a 20,000 square-foot facility in Boston.

(Bette-Lee Fox, "Keep On Constructin'," Library Journal, Dec. 15. 2001. http://1ibraryjournal.reviewsnews.com/ index.asp?layout=artideAarticleid=CA185139. Jan. 1, 2002)

Library and Information Science Education enrollment

According to the 22nd annual statistical report on library and information science (IIS) education published by the Association for Library and Information Science Education CAUSE), enrollment in fall 2000 for ALA-accredited master’s programs has increased by 191 percent since 1990. Only 5,2 percent of students enrolled in the fall 2000 ALA- accredited master's programs were Black; only 31 percent Hispanic.

([Evelyn H. Daniel and Jerry D. Saye, eds.), Library and Information Science Statistical Report 2001, Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE). http://www.ils.unc.edu/AUSE/2001/Contents.htm. Jan. 1, 2002)

Internet information considered important and reliable

The UCLA Internet Report 2001finds that "the Internet is viewed as an important source of information by the vast majority of people who use the online technology." Only 9.2 percent consider the Internet to be less than moderately important as a source of information. Fifty-eight percent of Internet users consider most or all online information to be reliable and accurate, up from 54.8 percent in last year's survey.

(UCLA Center For Communication Policy, The UCLA Internet Report 2001-"Surveying the Digital Future, “ Nov. 29, 2001 http://ccp.uda.edu/pages/internet-report.asp. Dec. 31, 2001)

National Library of Australia celebrates centennial

The National Library of Australia, established as the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library in 1901, now holds more than 5 million items in its collections, including more than 45,000 paintings and 550,000 photographs in the Pictorial Collection. The Pictorial Collection, which also includes three-dimensional objects, emphasizes “Australian material, with some material relating to New Zealand, Antarctica, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific." More than 30,000 digital images are available through the library’s online catalog.

(National Library of Australia, http://Www.nla.gov.au/. Dec. 31. 2001)

Children's bestsellers

The Publisher's Weekly list of “All-Time Bestselling Children’s Books" includes 189 hardcover bool« with sales of more than 750,000 copies and 379 paperback books with sales of more than 1 million copies. Janette Sebring Lowrey’s The Poky Little Puppy (Golden, 1942) tops the list of hardcover titles with total sales of 14,898,341 copies. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White (HarperCollins, 1974) is the best-selling paperback with sales totaling 9,899,696.

(Diane Roback, Jason Britton, and Debbie Hochman Turvey, "All-Time Bestselling Children's Book*," Publishers Weekly, Dec 17, 2001. http://publishersweekly.reviewsnews.com/lndex.asp?layout=artide&artideld=CA186995. Jan. 1, 2002)

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