july09ff.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 

Gadgets and gigawatts 
By 2010 there will be more than 3.5 billion mobile phone subscribers, 2 billion 
televisions in use around the world, and 1 billion personal computers. Global 
residential electricity consumption is still growing in all regions as the number 
and size of the energy­using appliances in the average household increases. 
While consumption in non­OECD (Organisation for Economic Co­operation 
and Development) countries has grown at twice the rate compared to OECD 
countries, OECD still accounts for 65 percent of total residential electricity con­
sumption. Without new policies, the energy consumed by electronic gadgets 
will double by 2022 and increase threefold by 2030 to 1,700 terawatt hours. 
Switching to the best technologies available today would save at least 40 percent 
of residential electricity consumption in most appliance categories. 
International Energy Agency. Gadgets and Gigawatts: Policies for Energy Efficient Electronics. Paris: OECD, 2009, lysander. 
sourceoecd.org/vl=1419440/cl=49/nw=1/rpsv/ij/oecdthemes/99980053/v2009n1/s1/p1l. Retrieved June 10, 2009. 

Evolution of evolution 
Almost 150 years after the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of 
Species, scientific understanding of evolution continues to take some remark­
able twists and turns. A new National Science Foundation interactive Web site 
and report includes essays, interviews, and extensive timelines chronicling the 
challenges and triumphs of the evolution of evolution. The site includes a bib­
liography and links to additional Web resources on anthropology, astronomy, 
biology, geosciences, and polar sciences. 
Evolution of Evolution—150 Years of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. National Science Foundation, www.nsf.gov/ 
news/special_reports/darwin/. Retrieved April 15, 2009. 

Book sales 
Total U.S. book publishers’ net revenues reached $40.32 billion in 2008, up 
1.0 percent over 2007, while 2008 unit sales reached nearly 3.1 billion, down 
1.5 percent over 2007. Sales of professional books and textbooks continued 
to grow in 2008, seeing increases of 4 to 4.5 percent in net revenue. Religious 
book revenues declined 10 percent against total industry growth of 1 percent. 
Michael Healy, “TRENDS 2009 Indicates Publishers’ Net Revenue Up 1.0% in 2008,” Book Industry Study Group, May 
29, 2009, www.bisg.org/news/press.php?pressid=55. Retrieved June 11, 2009. 

Wikipedia readers and contributors 
In October/November 2008, the Wikimedia Foundation and UNU­Merit con­
ducted a multilingual survey in 20 languages of Wikipedia readers and con­
tributors. Sixty­five percent of respondents described themselves as Wikipedia 
readers, and 35 percent as (mostly occasional) contributors. The average age 
of respondents is 26 years; 25 percent of the respondents are younger than 18 
years. The cohort is predominantly male (75 percent). Educational levels and 
age are slightly higher among contributors than among readers. Two­thirds of 
the responses are made up of English, German, and Spanish participants. 
Wikipedia Survey–First Results, Wikimedia Foundation and UNU-Merit, upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/a/a7 
/Wikipedia_General_Survey-Overview_0.3.9.pdf. Retrieved June 10, 2009. 

C&RL News July/August 2009  428