june07ff.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@email. 
unc.edu 

Summer reading programs 
The following are the 2007 summer reading choices for selected college pro­
grams: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: The Death of Innocents, 
by Helen Prejean; Texas Tech: Goodbye to a River, by John Graves; Appalachian 
State University: A Home on the Field: How One Championship Team Inspires 
Hope for the Revival of Small Town America, by Paul Cuadros; Miami University 
(Ohio): What is the What, by Dave Eggers; Louisiana State University: Breach of 
Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City, by Jed 
Horne; San Diego State University: Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of 
Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World, by Tracy Kidder; Meredith 
College: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman; SUNY 
Brockport: Miracle in the Andes, by Nando Parrado; Case Western Reserve 
University: The Working Poor: Invisible in America, by David K. Shipler; Middle 
Tennessee State University: An Ordinary Man, by Paul Rusesabagina; Saint 
Louis University: Heroic Leadership, by Chris Lowney; Kent State University: 
The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri. 
Source: Individual institution Web sites. 

Publishing and languages 
Of the 1.5 million books published worldwide last year, 30 percent were in 
English. Of the books published in the United States in 2004, 2.62 percent were 
translations. Of the books published in Iran in 2002, 23 percent were transla­
tions. In 2004, 29 percent of the books published in the Czech Republic were 
translations. 
Jascha Hoffman, “Comparative Literature,” New York Times Book Review, April 15, 2007, P. 27. 

Open Access and publishers 
Almost 2,600 peer­reviewed journals are listed in the Directory of Open Access 
Journals. This represents a 25 percent increase over the previous year. More 
than 200 Open Access titles are tracked for impact by Thomson­ISI. In 2007, 
the average price for periodicals in the field of chemistry is $3,429 per title; in 
physics, $2,865; and in engineering, $2,071. Titles published in the Netherlands 
are the most expensive, averaging $3,362 per title, while those published in 
India are the least expensive, with an average price of $209. Prices are expected 
to increase industry­wide between 7 to 9 percent for 2008. 
Lee C. Van Orsdel and Kathleen Born, “Serial Wars,” Library Journal, 4/15/2007, www.libraryjournal.com/article 
/CA6431958.html, May 1, 2007 

FOIA turns 40 
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which gives citizens access to federal 
government files, turns 40 this year. The federal government spent $7.7 bil­
lion in 2005 to classify documents as secret. The same year, citizens fi led 2.7 
million requests for government records through FOIA, an increase of 65,000 
requests over the previous year, according to a report by the bipartisan group, 
OpenTheGovernment.org. 
William Douglas, “Freedom of Information Act turns 40,” The SeattleTimes (March 11, 2007), seattletimes.nwsource. 
com/html/nationworld/2003612433_foiact11.html, March 11, 2007. 

408C&RL News June 2007