ACRL College & Researc Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Fast Facts

Gary Pattillo

InternetusebyEuropeanchildren

→“The number of children online in Europe has grown by three million in the last 12 months, according to new research from Nielsen//NetRatings. There are now 13.1 million kids online; four million under 12 years old, and nine million 12—17 year olds.” "13 million kids using the Internet across Europe," www.netratings.com/pr/pr_030929_uk.pdf. September 29,2003

Typing behavior

→Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed software that is able to identify computer users by monitoring their typing behavior as they type freely. The technology may be used in the future as part of security systems to prevent unauthorized users from using specified applications.

Kevin Hattori, "Hey… You're Not My User!" www.ats.org/news.php?id=70. September 29,2003

Museums and education survey

→ Museum spending on educational programs increased fourfold from 1995 to 2001.

Seventy percent of responding museums said the number of schools, students, and teachers they serve had grown in the past five years.

"Museums spend over a billion, commit over 18 million hours to K-12 education programs study finds," Institute of Museum and Library Services. January 29,2003 www.imls.gov/whatsnew/current/012903.htm. September 30, 2003

Adult literacy programs

→ A survey by the National Center for Education Statistics found that adult literacy programs were offered by 17 percent of public library outlets. Ninety- one percent of outlets not offering programs named inadequate staff or resources as a factor in their decision not to offer adult literacy programs.

"Programs for adults in public library outlets," National Center for Education Statistics, nces.ed.gov/surveys/frss/ publications/2003010/. September 30,2003

Weblogs

→ Estimates of the number of Weblogs (or “blogs”) range from 1.4 million to 2.9 million worldwide, depending on the counting technique used. Blogging is split about evenly between the sexes.

NITLE Weblog census, www.blogcensus.net. October 1,2003

Phil Wolff, "How many blogs and bloggers? How big the blogosphere?" blogcount.com. September 3,2003

Gary Pattillo is reference librarian at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, e-mail: pattillo@refstaff.lib.unc.edu