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C&RL News April 2013  220

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

Educational expenditure per student
In 2009, the average level of expenditure per student at the tertiary level, across 
OECD countries, was $13,728. Spending per student ranged from $7,000 or less 
in Chile, Estonia, Indonesia, the Slovak Republic, and South Africa to more than 
$20,000 in Canada, Switzerland, and the United States. Between 2000 and 2009, 
spending per student fell in Iceland, Israel, and the United States, largely due 
to rapid increases in the number of tertiary students.
OECD (2013), “Educational expenditure per student,” in OECD Factbook 2013: Economic, Environmental and Social 
Statistics, OECD Publishing, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/factbook-2013-78-en (retrieved February 1, 2012).

Public libraries
In 2012, 53 percent of Americans ages 16 and older visited a public library or book-
mobile; 25 percent visited a library Web site; and 13 percent used a handheld device 
such as a smartphone or tablet computer to gain access to a library Web site. All 
told, 59 percent of Americans ages 16 and older had at least one of those kinds of 
interactions with their public library. Of those, 73 percent of library patrons say they 
visit libraries to browse the shelves for books or media and to borrow print books.
Kathryn Zickuhr, Lee Rainie, and Kristen Purcell, “Library services in the digital age,” Pew Internet & American Life Project, 
January 22, 2013, http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2013/01/22/library-services (retrieved January 31, 2013).

Language jobs in the academy
The Modern Language Association predicts there will be 1,246 job listings for 
academic foreign-language jobs in 2012-13, up 10.5 percent from the previous 
year. New job listings in English are expected to decline to 1,191—down 3.6 
percent from 2011-12. A peak of 1,680 foreign-language listings occurred in 
2007-2008. That same year saw English jobs peaking at 1,826.
Audrey Williams June, “In Abrupt Reversal, Foreign-Language Jobs Will Exceed English Positions, MLA Predicts,” The Chronicle 
of Higher Education, December 20, 2012, http://chronicle.com/article/In-Abrupt-Reversal/136369 (retrieved January 31, 2013).

CAO survey
Seventy percent of college and university chief academic officers (CAO) agree that 
faculty tenure remains important and viable at their institutions. Forty-seven percent 
agree that too many teaching institutions now overemphasize faculty research. 
Fifty-five percent of CAOs believe library resources and services at their institu-
tions are “very effective,” while 39 percent consider them “somewhat effective.” 
Scott Jaschik and Doug Lederman, “The 2013 Inside Higher Ed Survey of College &University Chief Academic Officers,” 
Inside Higher Ed, 2013. www.insidehighered.com/sites/default/server_files/files/IHE_ProvostsSurvey_Bookletfinal.pdf 
(retrieved February 4, 2013).

Education in Europe
A general trend towards longer compulsory schooling to guarantee the acquisi-
tion of core competencies has been observed in almost all EU education systems 
since 1980. In ten countries, the start of compulsory education has been brought 
forward by one year (or even two in the case of Latvia). At the other end of the 
formal education experience, 13 countries extended the duration of full-time 
compulsory education by one or two years, and by three years in Portugal. In 
2009, across Europe, the student/teacher ratio in primary education was 14:1, 
and 12:1 in secondary education.
Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, “Key data on education in Europe 2012,” Eurydice Network, 2012, http://
epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/978-92-9201-242-7/EN/978-92-9201-242-7-EN.PDF (retrieved February 4, 2013).