feb09ff.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 

The future of the Internet 
A survey of Internet leaders, activists, and analysts predicts that, by 2020, mobile 
devices will be the primary connection tool to the Internet for most people in 
the world, and that voice recognition and touch user­interfaces will be more 
prevalent. Those working to enforce intellectual property law and copyright 
protection will continue to be in conflict with “crackers” who will fi nd ways to 
copy and share content without payment. 
Janna Quitney Anderson and Lee Rainie, The Future of the Internet III, Elon University/Pew Internet and American Life 
Project, December 14, 2008. www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_FutureInternet3.pdf. Retrieved December 19, 2008. 

Reading on the rise 
For the first time in more than 25 years, American adults are reading more 
literature, according to a study by the National Endowment for the Arts. The 
overall rate at which adults read literature (novels and short stories, plays, or 
poems) rose by 7 percent. The 2008 increases followed signifi cant declines in 
reading rates for the two most recent ten­year survey periods (1982–1992 and 
1992–2002). Since 2002, reading has increased at the sharpest rate among His­
panic Americans, rising 20 percent. Reading rates have increased among African 
Americans by 15 percent, and among Whites by 8 percent. 
More American Adults Read Literature According to New NEA Study, January 12, 2009. National Endowment for the Arts, 
Washington, D.C. www.nea.gov/news/news09/ReadingonRise.html. Retrieved January 12, 2009. 

Humanities indicators 
21,549 master’s degrees in the humanities were awarded in 2004, the latest date 
for which data are available. That number represents 3.4 percent of all degrees 
awarded at the master’s and first professional degree level. During the same 
year, 4,267 doctoral degrees in the humanities were awarded, representing 8.8 
percent of all doctoral degrees awarded. The most popular degrees at the master’s 
level were English, General Humanities/Liberal Studies, Foreign Languages and 
Linguistics, and History, in that order. For doctoral degrees, the most popular 
were English, History, and Foreign Languages and Linguistics, followed distantly 
by Philosophy in fourth place. 
Humanities Resources Center Online, 2009. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 
www.humanitiesindicators.org/humanitiesData.aspx. Retrieved January 14, 2009. 

Book cover archive 
The Book Cover Archive is a Web site “for the appreciation and categorization 
of excellence in book cover design.” As of this writing, it contains 880 images 
and associated records of book covers. The database can be browsed by title, 
designer, author, photographer, art director, and other fields. Each record contains 
cross­linked metadata (designer, illustrator, genre, publisher, etc.) and offers the 
ability to read and leave comments. The site contains links to other Web sites 
on book cover design, as well as to specific book designer sites. The site also 
maintains a blog for industry news and assorted book cover­related miscellany. 
All covers are the copyright of their respective publishers. 
bookcoverarchive.com. Retrieved January 14, 2009. 

C&RL News February 2009  136