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

Boomer media

“AARP The Magazine, which distributes bi-monthly, surpassed People as the most-circulated magazine in the United States in 2017.”

Sara Fischer, Axios Media Trends, November 12, 2019, https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-media-trends-4893b06c-59e0-4a54-8e93-cbb135f88a34.html (retrieved November 13, 2019).

Media time

“Women in the U.S. spend more time with media than men, particularly on their smartphones and on live TV. In total, women spend about 72.8 hours a week consuming media, while men spend around 67.8 hours per week.”

Sara Fischer, Axios Media Trends, November 19, 2019, https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-media-trends-a189a865-c7ed-4a0a-86ca-7182692eb74f.html (retrieved November 22, 2019).

WorldCat

WorldCat currently contains 453 million records reflecting 2.8 billion holdings.

OCLC Annual Report 2018–2019, https://www.oclc.org/en/annual-report/2019/home.html (retrieved November 22, 2019).

Computer information literacy

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement found just 2 percent of 8th-grade students demonstrated an ability to critically assess information found online. “On average, students from higher socioeconomic status backgrounds had significantly higher computer information literacy (CIL) scores. Students with a parent who had completed a Bachelor’s degree or higher had a CIL score 31 points higher than students whose parents do not hold a degree.”

International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, ICILS 2018 results press release, November 5, 2019, https://www.iea.nl/publications/press-release/icils-2018-results-press-release (retrieved November 22, 2019).

International graduate students

“The number of international graduate applications received by institutions participating in the CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey declined by 4 percent between Fall 2017 and Fall 2018, while first-time graduate enrollment decreased by 1 percent. First-time graduate enrollment at participating institutions declined between Fall 2017 and Fall 2018 for the Middle East & North Africa (-12 percent), Oceania (-10 percent), and Europe (-3 percent).”

Hironao Okahana and Enyu Zhou, “International graduate applications and enrollment: Fall 2018,” February 2019, Washington, D.C.: Council of Graduate Schools, https://cgsnet.org/international-graduate-applications-and-enrollments-continue-decline-us-institutions (retrieved November 22, 2019).