oct05ff.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 

Intellectual freedom and libraries worldwide 
“While Internet access across the international library community is slowly in­
creasing, many parts of the world, especially Africa and Asia are still struggling 
with the problems of the digital divide. Violations of intellectual freedom that 
affect library users continue to occur around the world. Censorship, restrictions 
of press freedom and governmental restriction and surveillance of Internet use 
were reported in many countries including China, Egypt, Italy, Nepal and Uz­
bekistan. In Turkmenistan it was reported that libraries have been closed under 
presidential order, on the grounds that ‘no one reads’.” 
“Launch of the IFLA/FAIFE World Report 2005,” International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, www. 
ifl a.org/faife/report/WorldReport-pr-2005.htm. August 16, 2005 

Identity theft and colleges 
Nearly half of the publicized incidents of computer data breach since January 
occurred at universities, according to the San Diego­based Identity Theft Resource 
Center. Identity theft is estimated to affect more than 9 million Americans a year 
at the total cost of more than $50 billion. Types of data­breaching incidents in­
cluded stolen laptops, hacking, employee theft of information, and poor business 
practices such as using Social Security numbers for identifi cation purposes. 
“U.S. colleges struggle to combat identity theft,” Reuters, August 17, 2005, go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type 
=domesticNews&storyID=9399001&src=rss/domesticNews. August 17, 2005 
and “Security breaches and rreezes,” Identity Theft Resource Center, August 2005. www.idtheftcenter.org/breaches. 
shtml August 17, 2005 

Expenditures of public degree-granting institutions 
Current­fund expenditures rose 49 percent in degree­granting institutions from 
1988 to 2001. From 2000 to 2014, expenditures are projected to increase about 
54 percent, to $273 billion in constant 2002­03 dollars. Doctor’s degrees are 
projected to increase 19 percent overall (12 percent for men, 28 percent for 
women) during the same time period. 
W. J. Hussar. (2005). Projections of Education Statistics to 2014 (NCES 2005-074). U.S. Department of Education, National 
Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Offi ce, nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/2005074. 
pdf. September 8, 2005 

“Massification” of higher education 
“The proportion of adults with higher educational qualifications in the OECD 
[Organization for Economic Co­Operation and Development] countries almost 
doubled between 1975 and 2000, from 22% to 41%. China doubled its student 
population in the 1990s. The World Bank calculates that global spending on 
higher education amounts to $300 billion per year, or 1 percent of global eco­
nomic output. There are more than 80 million students worldwide, and 3.5 
million people are employed to teach them or administer to them.” 
Adrian Wooldridge, “The brains business,” The Economist, September 8, 2005, www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory. 
cfm?story_id=4339960. September 8, 2005 

C&RL News October 2005  700