sept09ff.indd


C&RL News September 2009  492

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

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

File sharing and media creation
The publication of new books rose by 66 percent over the 2002–2007 period.  
Since 2000, the annual release of new music albums has more than doubled.  
Worldwide feature fi lm production is up by more than 30 percent since 2003.  
Authors, publishers, and media producers have not been discouraged from 
creating new works despite advent of fi le-sharing technology.
Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf, File-Sharing and Copyright, Harvard Business School Working Paper 09-
132, published May 15, 2009, www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-132.pdf. Retrieved May 21, 2009.

Survey of American college students
According to several reports published by the Primary Research Group, Inc.,  
only about 47 percent of students are sure that they have ever been required to 
turn in a research paper exceeding ten double-spaced typed pages in length for 
any of their classes. More than 86 percent of students say that they understand 
the concept of plagiarism. The higher the grade point average, the less informa-
tion for research papers was obtained from search engines, such as Google or 
Yahoo. Close to 19 percent of students in the fi ne or performing arts have ever 
asked reference questions via e-mail, the highest percentage among all types 
of majors or concentrations.
Press Release from Primary Research Group, Inc., June, 2009, primaryresearch.com/release-200906251.html Retrieved 
August 6, 2009.

Pew Global Attitudes Project
Kenyans have a more favorable view of the United States than we do of ourselves 
(90 percent versus 88 percent) according to data from the Pew Global Attitudes 
Project. The new database allows users to explore public opinion trends in 55 
countries on a variety of topics such as globalization, democratization, and sup-
port for suicide bombing. Data can be searched by question, by topic, or by 
country. Results can be displayed in map, table, or chart formats.
Pew Global Attitudes Project Key Indicators Database, pewglobal.org/database/.  Retrieved August 12, 2009.

College enrollment
In 2006, the fi ve colleges with the highest enrollment were University of Phoe-
nix Online Campus with 165,373 students; Ohio State University with 51,818; 
Miami-Dade College with 51,329; Arizona State University at the Tempe Campus 
with 51,234; and University of Florida with 50,912.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2009),Digest of Education Statistics, 2008 (NCES 
2009-020), Chapter 3, nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=74. Retrieved August 12, 2009.

Federal spending went up in 2008
The federal government obligated nearly $2.79 trillion in domestic spending for 
fi scal year 2008, up 9.3 percent from 2007. That is equivalent to a total of $9,184 
per person living in the United States. Federal per capita spending was highest 
for Virginia ($15,256), Maryland ($13,829), and Alaska ($13,730).
Federal Domestic Spending Increases 9.3 Percent in FY ’08, U.S. Census Bureau News, July 23, 2009, www.census.
gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/governments/013997.html. Retrieved August 7, 2009.