factsmay04.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 

U.S. Internet traffi c 
In February 2004, the biggest gains in Internet traffi c were driven by Valentine’s 
Day, the Super Bowl halftime, and tax season. In the top 50 busiest Internet 
sites, irs.gov climbed 34 spots to become the 19th most popular destination in 
the United States. Traffic at a site called Proflowers.com grew by 420 percent, 
and on several “wardrobe malfunction” sites, traffic was boosted signifi cantly as 
well. The top 5 Internet properties for February were Yahoo! Sites, with nearly 
110 million unique visitors, the Time Warner Network, MSN­Microsoft Sites, 
eBay, and Google sites. Coming in at #8 were various Amazon sites, with 35.9 
million unique visitors. 
comScore Networks, Inc., “comScore Media Metrix Announces Top 50 U.S. Internet Property Rankings for Febru­
ary 2004,” http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=443. March 24, 2004 

High school transcript changes 
Results of a new study by the National Center for Education Statistics show an 
increase in mean grade point average from 1990 to 2000, from 2.68 to 2.94, 
respectively. The number of course credits earned by all high school graduates 
increased as well, from an average of 23.6 in 1990 to 26.2 in 2000. Mathematics 
and science courses continued to prove the most difficult for high school students 
during the entire decade. In 2000, female high school graduates earned a higher 
overall mean GPA (3.05) than male high school graduates (2.83). The increase 
in the mean GPA of high school graduates from 1990 to 2000 was evident for 
all examined student and school characteristics (gender, race/ethnicity, school 
type, and region of the country). 
 Robert Perkins, et al, “The High School Transcript Study: A Decade of Change in Curricula and Achievement, 
1990–2000,” nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2004455. March 25, 2004 

Population trends 
The world’s population increased by 1.2 percent in 2002 to more than 6.2 bil­
lion, according to a newly released report by the U.S. Census Bureau. The rate 
of increase is about 200,000 people per day and 74 million per year, down from 
a high of 87 million people per year in 1989­90. The world’s older population 
is expected to grow considerably. In 2050, there will be more than three times 
as many people age 65 and older as there are today. The world population is 
projected to reach 9.1 billion by the year 2050. 
U.S. Census Bureau, “Global Population in 2002 Tops 6.2 Billion,” www.census.gov/Press­Release/www/releases 
/archives/international_population/001730.html. March 22, 2004 

Charitable giving to higher education 
Private gifts to higher education amounted to $23.9 billion for the fi scal year 
that ended June 30, 2003. This represents a leveling off of a decline that began 
in 1988. Alumni contributions rebounded from a sharp decline in the previous 
year, while non­alumni individuals gave less in 2003. Harvard University raised 
more money ($555.6 million) from private donors than any other university, fol­
lowed by Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania. Still, voluntary 
support has accounted for only about 8 percent of expenditures over each of 
the past fi ve years. 
The RAND Corporation, Council for Aid to Education, “VSE Press Release 2004: Charitable Giving to Higher 
Education Stabilizes in 2003; Gifts from Alumni Rebound After a Sharp One­Year Decline,” March 11, 2004. 
www.cae.org/content/display_press.asp?id=47. March 23, 2004 

298 / C&RL News May 2004