ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 2 6 4 1 C & R L N e w s ■ F e b r u a r y 2001 →F a A s n n t V i I e s Facts Jo u rn a lis ts choose In ternet fo r research A recent survey of 232 journalists by the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller found that 37% choose the Internet as their “first source of information”; 27% choose a library or archives. Fifty-seven percent trust the Internet the “sam e as traditional media"; 3% trust the Internet “more than traditional m edia.” Genia Jones, "Just the Online Facts, Ma'am," The Standard, Dec. 19, 2000. http://www.thestandard.com/ articie/display/0, 1151,20942,00.htmI. Jan. 2, 2001 In form atio n fo ra g in g Research conducted by Peter Pirolli an d Stuart Card at Xerox’s Palo Alto Re­ search Center suggests that foraging theories can be applied to information gathering. Web surfers “rely on prehistoric instincts to maximize their yield w hen they hunt and gather morsels o f inform ation.” Rachel Chalmers, "Surf Like a Bushman," New Scientist Nov. 11, 2000. http://www.newscientist.com/features/ features_226445.html. Jan. 2, 2001 U sage o f Web p ro x y serv ers Eighty-four percent of 74 libraries responding to a survey last m onth use proxy Web servers to enable rem ote access to vendor-provided resources. Web prox­ ies are also used for providing access to IP-restricted cam pus resources; filter­ ing Internet access; denying access to W eb-based e-mail, gaming, an d chat sites; conserving bandw idth; and creating statistical reports. Peter Murray, "Library Proxy Use Survey Results." http://www.pandc.org/proxy/survey/report.html. Jan. 2, 2001 O CLC stats The 37,297 OCLC participating libraries cataloged 55.2 million items on the online system betw een July 1999 and June 2000 and com pleted 8.6 million interlibrary loan transactions. "O CLC Issues 1999/2000 Annual Report ," OCLC Online Computer Library Center, http://www.oclc.org/oclc/ press/20001215.htm. Jan. 2, 2001 More reference lib ra ria n s Market Data Retrieval reports a 56 percent increase in the num ber of reference specialists em ployed by public libraries from 2,634 in 1995 to 4,100 in 2000. Larry Keller, "Not an Endangered Career: Looking It Up," CNN.com, Nov. 28, 2000. http://www.cnn.com/2000/ CAREER/trends/11/28/librarians/index.html. Jan. 2, 2001 U NESCO A rch iv e s Portal The UNESCO Archives Portal launched in Septem ber 2000 now links to 2,560 Web sites in the following categories: Architectural (48), Audiovisual (84), Busi­ ness and Labor (65), Diplomatic (14), Family (4), International Organizations (19), Literature and Art (102), Military (23), Municipal (670), Museums (59), National (71), Parliaments and Political Parties (47), Religious Communities (120), State and Regional (265), Universities and Research Institutions (383), and O ther (26). UNESCO Archives Portal, http://www.unesco.org/webworld/portal_archives. Jan. 2, 2001 Ann V i l e s coordinator o f reference and instruction at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, e-mail: vilesea@conrad.appstate.edu http://www.thestandard.com/ http://www.newscientist.com/features/ http://www.pandc.org/proxy/survey/report.html http://www.oclc.org/oclc/ CNN.com http://www.cnn.com/2000/ http://www.unesco.org/webworld/portal_archives mailto:vilesea@conrad.appstate.edu