march06ff.indd G a r y P a t t i l l o LIS faculty growth In 1980 the number of full­time Library and Information Science faculty was 722 with a gender ratio of about 60 percent male to 40 percent female. By 2002, that number had increased to 758 with a ratio of 49.2 percent male to 50.8 percent female. Dillon, A. and Norris, A. (2005) Crying Wolf: an examination and reconsideration of the perception of crisis in LIS educa­ tion. Journal of Education in Library and Information Science, 46,4 280­298. http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~adillon/ Journals/JELIS.pdf February 13, 2006 Internet Live Music Archive The Internet Live Music Archive is an online public library of live recordings available for royalty­free, no­cost public downloads. The Internet Archive has teamed up with etree.org to preserve and archive as many live concerts as pos­ sible for current and future generations to enjoy. As of March 1, over 30,500 shows and 1800 artists were represented. http://www.archive.org/audio/etree.php March 1, 2006. MEDLINE Citation Counts by Year of Publication The percentage of publications originating in the United States cited by MEDLINE has steadily risen over the years. From a low of 18 percent in 1964, the number of US publications cited in MEDLINE now represents almost one half. In 2004, out of 576,700 citations, 46 percent were published in the United States. The preliminary count for 2005 is 48 percent. United States National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, “MEDLINE Citation Counts by Year of Publica­ tion,” http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/medline_cit_counts_yr_pub.html February 16, 2006 State Budgets For most states, it is difficult to see a future for higher education that recre­ ates the prosperity of the late 1990s, according to a new report. Colleges and universities—and the students who enroll in them—are more likely to face lib.unc.edu C&RL News April 2006 210 Gary Pattillo is reference librarian at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, e-mail: pattillo@refstaff. continued financial strain. All 50 states show potential revenue defi cits, rang­ ing from 0.5 percent in New Hampshire to 12.9 percent in Wyoming. If there were no cuts in federal grants to states, the average budget deficit falls from 5.7 percent to 2.7 percent. The report concludes that all 50 states will face budget deficits by 2013. Dennis Jones, “State shortfalls projected to continue despite economic gains,” Policy Alert, February 2006, National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. http://www.highereducation.org/reports/pa_shortfalls/State_Shortfalls. pdf February 17, 2006 High school dropouts Researchers commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found that while the vast majority of high school dropouts had passing grades, they dropped out primarily because of boredom. 69 percent of dropouts say they weren’t motivated, and 47 percent say classes weren’t interesting. About one million students leave school each year. Most leave when they turn sixteen years old, the age at which most states allow students to drop out. Four US states require students to stay in school until age eighteen. Only New Mexico has a law requiring teenagers to remain in high school until they graduate. Elaine Korry, “Many High School Dropouts Are Better Students than Believed,” Morning Edition, National Public Radio, March 2, 2006. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5241173 March 2, 2006 http:lib.unc.edu http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/medline_cit_counts_yr_pub.html http://www.archive.org/audio/etree.php http:etree.org http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~adillon