dec04facts.indd


G a r y  P a t t i l l o  

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

Librarian jobs and salaries 
The nationwide median salary for full­time employed 2003 graduates in the 
library profession is $36,335. The lowest median starting salaries are in Canada 
and the Southeastern United States. The highest median starting salaries are in 
the Western United States.  
“Tables for Placements and Salaries 2003,” Library Journal, October 15, 2004, www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA471018. 
October 20, 2004 

Latin American science and engineering articles 
The number of science and engineering articles credited to Latin American 
authors almost tripled in the 13­year period from 1988 to 2001, signifi cantly 
outpacing authors of other developing regions in the world. By contrast, sci­
entific article production by authors from Eastern Europe and the former USSR 
are down approximately 20 percent. 
Derek L. Hill, “Latin America Shows Rapid Rise in S&E Articles,” National Science Foundation Science Resources Statistics 
InfoBriefs NSF 04-336, August 2004. www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/infbrief/nsf04336/start.htm. October 25, 2004 

Wireless nation 
Fifty­six million American adults are “wireless ready.” Twenty­eight percent of 
Americans within the past month have used devices (laptops, cell phones, etc.) 
that allow them to connect to the Internet by wireless means. Among Internet 
users with wireless ready devices, 44 percent say they have at one time logged 
onto the Internet away from home or work. 
John B. Horrigan, Pew Internet Project Data Memo, May 12, 2004. www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Wireless_Ready_ 
Data_0504.pdf. October 20, 2004 

E-mail explosion 
In 2003, an estimated 40.3 billion e­mail messages traveled the Internet every 
day. By 2009, that number is predicted to rise to more than 88 billion. Over 
half of that traffic is spam. By way of comparison, worldwide domestic letter­
post activity is expected to decline during the same period from 1.1 billion to 
980,000. 
OCLC Reports, “2004 Information Format Trends: Content, Not Containers,” www5.oclc.org/downloads/community 
/2004infotrends_content.pdf. October 25, 2004 

742 / C&RL News December 2004