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Library Newsletter - November, 2006

Vol. 11, No. 3

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Word from the Director

Maurice G. Fortin, Library Director

I hope everyone is preparing for the wind up of the semester and looking forward to the intersession break and the college football bowl season. I guess first we must get through finals and graduation.

Library staff members are working on several major projects. One task force is working on making it easier to navigate through the Library’s online resources. Their task is titled the "Seamless Research Experience." Their report is due by mid-November. Over the course of the spring and summer terms, work will begin on implementing their suggestions. Information Technology and Library staff members are in the process of planning for a major change in the appearance of the Library’s First Floor. This includes an expansion of the Juvenile and Curriculum Collections area, a redesign of the Circulation Desk, and, most importantly, a plan to have an Information Commons on the south side of the First Floor. I will report more on the information commons concept in future issues of the Newsletter. Later in the spring semester, a new task force will begin work on a complete redesign of the Library’s web pages and the Library’s tab in RamPort.

In this issue of the Newsletter, I included some statistical information on the Library’s holdings and operations in FY 06 and in comparison to previous years. I hope everyone will note the increasing preference of the ASU community for online access to information. Online access was the preferred method for our students and for an increasing number of faculty members. When you compare the circulation numbers and door counts with the online database usage and webpage hits, one could easily determine this fundamental shift in library usage. Although traditional library usage shrinks, the new avenues of access (databases, full-text/image serials and E-books, E-reserves, etc.) documented the vital role the Library still plays in the classroom and to meet the research needs of the ASU community.

Please note the very large increase in Interlibrary Loan activity. The majority of the increase was in lending activities rather than borrowing. With the large number of online serial publications (23,000+) now available on campus, these increased resources were better able to meet campus needs. Also more of the Library’s serial holdings were entered onto OCLC’s WorldCat. Other libraries now have access to better information as to what is available from ASU. As a result, the ASU Library ended the year with a very favorable balance between lending and borrowing. On the other hand, the items now requested by ASU users are the rarer or harder to find materials. As a result, our fill ratio (the ability to find a lender for our users) has gone down in comparison to previous years.

Both the number of sessions and students participating in Library Instruction went up during FY 06. This was probably due to more aggressive marketing of the service and more faculty members reporting usage of the various online tutorials developed by the librarians. I still feel the actual numbers of both sessions and students remained underreported. If the Web statistics were able to actually report the number of classes and students using the tutorials, this would produce a clearer picture of usage. Instead the Web stats simply reported the number of hits on the tutorial pages. For FY 06, the number of hits was approximately 190,000 for the tutorials. That represented almost 30 hits per student on campus.

As previously mentioned, the use of the online services continued to show the preference for this mode of access to information. I would suspect this trend to continue and especially for the retrieval, viewing, printing – of documents, articles, books – for the coming years.

Elsewhere in this issue, you will find information about graphic novels in the Library, the value of a college degree, and updated information on our country’s veterans (in honor of Veterans Day). Media Librarian, Antonella Ward, also provides a more detailed look at the Media Collection.

Library Operations and Holdings Information for FY 06
Porter Henderson Library Activity Levels for FY 06
CIRCULATION (Total number of items (print and online)
circulated from the Circulation Desk)
Fiscal Year Number of Items Average per
Month 		Highest Month
(Number)
2006 29,087 2,423.9 Oct. (4,665)
% CHANGE over FY 05: -13.6%
2005 33,663 2,805.2 Oct. (4,878)
2004 31,084 2,590.3 Oct. (4,472)
DOOR COUNTS
(Individuals entering front doors of the Library
and the West Texas Collection)
Fiscal Year Number of
Individuals 		Average per
Month 		Highest Month
(Number)
2006 125,009 10,417.4 Oct. (14,518)
% CHANGE over FY 05: +3.1%
2005 121,287 10,107.3 Oct. (14,716)
2004 151,923 12,660.3 Oct. (19,659)
COMBINED ONLINE ACCESS
(Number of searches)
Fiscal Year Number of
Searches 		Average per
Month 		Highest Month
(Number)
2006 303,051 25,254.2 Oct. (42,217)
% CHANGE over FY 05: +16.2%
2005 260,705 21,725.4 Oct. (33,381)
2004 211,098 17,591.5 Oct. (34,573)
COMBINED ONLINE ACCESS
(Number of documents retrieved/viewed)
Fiscal Year Number of
Documents 		Average per
Month 		Highest Month
(Number)
2006 399,493 33,282.8 Oct. (56,962)
% CHANGE over FY 05: +17.5%
2005 339,874 28,322.8 Apr. (49,991)
2004 281,331 23,444.2 Oct. (41,829)
WEB PAGE USAGE
(Number of hits)
Fiscal Year Number of
Hits 		Average per
Month 		Highest Month
(Number)
2006 1,483,300 123,608.3 Sept. (173,000)
% CHANGE over FY 05: +39.9%
2005 1,065,500 88,375.0 Sept. (148,000)
2004 880,900 73,408.3 Feb. (110,000)

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INTERLIBRARY LOAN
(Total number of transactions: loans plus borrows)
Fiscal Year Number of
Transactions 		Average per
Month 		Highest Month
(Number)
2006 7,025 585.4 Mar. (1,248)
% CHANGE over FY 05: +29.2%
2005 4,972 414.3 Mar. (564)
2004 5,329 444.1 Feb. (684)
INTERLIBRARY LOAN
(Average percentage of requests filled)
Fiscal Year Percentage Filled Best Month Percentage Filled
2006 82.7 Nov. 94.7
2005 86.1 Dec. 91.2
2004 88.4 Dec. 110.0

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LIBRARY INSTRUCTION
(Number of sessions)
Fiscal Year Number of
Sessions 		Average per
Month 		Highest Month
(Number)
2006 152 12.7 Sept. (45)
% CHANGE over FY 05: +13.4%
2005 134 11.2 Sept. (40)
2004 143 11.9 Sept. (40)
LIBRARY INSTRUCTION
(Number of participants)
Fiscal Year Number of
Participants 		Average per
Month 		Highest Month
(Number)
2006 3,008 250.7 Sept. (938)
% CHANGE over FY 05: +14.8%
2005 2,621 218.4 Sept. (871)
2004 2,884 240.3 Sept. (770)
QUESTIONS
(Total number of questions received)
Fiscal Year Number of
Questions 		Average per
Month 		Highest Month
(Number)
2006 22,795 1,899.6 Sept. (3,379)
% CHANGE over FY 05: -0.2%
2005 22,845 1,903.8 Sept. (3,209)
2004 19,473 1,622.8 Oct. (2,593)
Porter Henderson Library Holdings Information for FY 06
Title Count by LC Classification
(as of 9/1/2006)
LC# Count in
FY 05 		Count in
FY 06 		+/-
Change 		%
Change 		% of
total
holdings
A 681 691 10 0.015 0.003
B 16,058 16,218 160 0.010 0.060
C 2,398 2,436 38 0.016 0.009
D 15,209 15,560 351 0.023 0.057
E 13,883 14,176 293 0.021 0.052
F 13,242 13,481 239 0.018 0.050
G 8,827 9,000 173 0.020 0.033
H 35,716 36,096 380 0.011 0.133
J 7,040 7,054 14 0.002 0.026
K 3,711 3,786 75 0.020 0.014
L 11,167 11,286 119 0.011 0.042
M 7,162 7,273 111 0.015 0.027
N 8,200 8,257 57 0.007 0.030
P 77,512 78,555 1,043 0.013 0.290
Q 24,689 24,500 -189 -0.008 0.090
R 6,956 7,125 169 0.024 0.026
S 2,139 2,215 76 0.036 0.008
T 8,362 8,493 131 0.016 0.031
U 2,113 2,155 42 0.020 0.008
V 385 390 5 0.013 0.001
Z 2,045 2,062 17 0.008 0.008
TOTALS 267,495 270,809 3,314 0.012  
We do ourselves a disservice when we measure today’s libraries against yesterday’s services. With the vast digital resources that we make available to our users, the access to full text materials that are never ‘‘not on the shelf,’’ the ability to search through huge bibliographic databases quickly, and to download the results, there should be no question that libraries are worth every penny of the investment that goes into them.

-- Karen Coyle. (2006, September). Technology and the Return on Investment.
Journal of Academic Librarianship, 32(5), 537-539, 539.

PORTER HENDERSON LIBRARY
ITEM COUNT BY LC CLASS AND LOCATION
(as of 9/1/2006)

SUMMARY TOTALS
LC# CircCD CircCR PHL Stor Juv Microf RefDesk Ref Rm Stacks WTC Totals
A 1 1 273 3   10 698 590 301 1,877
B 5   233 135 284 2 506 14,174 282 15,621
C   3 42 19   1 648 1,460 1,308 3,481
D 3 4 340 175 47   768 15,270 364 16,971
E 2 3 440 332 178 1 740 12,656 2,437 16,789
F   4 111 170 373   249 8,103 8,377 17,387
G 3 30 66 219 1,633 5 511 6,427 795 9,689
H 11 54 296 134 860 18 2,388 31,244 1,016 36,021
J   5 281 15 6 9 653 7,131 178 8,278
K   12 1,281 6 41 2 2,922 3,135 242 7,641
L 1 25 238 22 249 27 328 10,283 2,439 13,612
M 3 23 19 65 3   370 8,041 38 8,562
N 4 11 79 66 6   279 8,127 130 8,702
P 25 30 1,210 6,276 16 17 4,036 72,630 2,516 86,756
Q 65 258 1,945 513 728 1 1,786 23,017 1,418 29,731
R 17 53 57 45 416 2 303 6,045 60 6,998
S 2 3 59 71 3   118 1,764 701 2,721
T 19 107 100 171 11 1 344 6,480 794 8,027
U   1 39 11 18   51 1,941 122 2,183
V     15 12 1   7 332 21 388
Z 2 9 1,326 15 1 22 729 1,392 214 3,710
TOTALS 163 636 8,450 8,475 4,874 118 18,434 240,242 23,753 305,145

ITEM COUNT BY LC CLASS AND LOCATION:
COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUS YEARS

  CircCD CircCR PHL Stor Juv Microf RefDesk Ref Rm Stacks WTC Totals
FY 01 77 239 1,063 6,104 3,714 125 18,184 229,333 17,073 275,912
FY 02 500 90 1,414 6,592 3,955 141 18,893 233,513 19,482 284,580
FY 03 138 560 1,742 6,926 4,107 176 18,678 237,942 20,114 290,383
FY 04 201 472 5,867 7,615 4,348 112 16,988 235,803 20,888 292,294
FY 05 140 604 7,612 8,032 4,624 114 18,144 238,357 22,474 300,101
FY 06 163 636 8,450 8,475 4,874 118 18,434 240,242 23,753 305,145
CircCD also includes CircDVD & CircJuvCD
CircCR also includes: CircDesk & Perm Reserves
RefRoom also includes: Index Room, RefOversize, Maps, & Atlases
PHL Stor also includes closed stacks and reference storage
Stacks also includes: Media, StacksOversize, PRA, & MCSLab
WTC-Stacks also includes: classified microform materials
Does not include items in processing, TexDocs, & USDocs

titlesLC.jpg

titlesitems.jpg

texshare_logo__medium2.jpg

TexShare Participation Summary, FY 07, Angelo State University
Cost to Library for TexShare Databases $ 11,452
Value of TexShare Databases (if licensed individually) $170,754
Number of Fulltext Journal Titles Available (based on vendor-supplied data) 10,588
Number of NetLibrary eBook Titles Available to TexShare Member Libraries 28,281
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane -- No, It’s a Graphic Novel IN THE LIBRARY!

by Mark Allan

Actually, over one hundred and seventy graphic novels are in the Porter Henderson Library. And no, I am not referring to pornographic novels, but rather the “comic book-type” material increasingly popular with youth and younger adults. But what is the difference between comic books and graphic novels? And what are comic, excuse me, graphic novels doing in an academic library?

Graphic novels have been distinguished from cartoons and comic books in several different ways. The first explanation holds that graphic novels tend to include a narrative as well as an actual end to the work, unlike comic strips which may have no progressive narrative and no discrete ending. Another explanation proffered by famous comics/graphic novels author and artist Will Eisner is that he coined the term in order to differentiate his work Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories from cartoon titles in order to increase its chances of publication. [1] Finally, graphic novels may also be described as narrative in a story board format that is bound in a traditional book binding. This latter definition may explain why both fictional as well as non-fictional works are often described as graphic novels.

With regard as to why the Porter Henderson Library collects graphic novels, let us start with a bit of history. As you are probably aware, the Library houses a Juvenile Collection that is primarily utilized by students majoring in education, to find materials on a variety of topics that is appropriate for various grade levels. Falling into the juvenile literature area are some graphic novels, which may be interpreted as a stepping stone between the picture books of preschool and the more advanced material of older children. The Porter Henderson Library has collected quality graphic novels which suit this purpose for years.

maus30.jpgSo all of the Library’s graphic novels are in the Juvenile Collection, right? Actually, no. The Second Floor stacks of the Library contain graphic novels appropriate for adults, as well! Ever since the Library purchased Art Spiegelman’s classic depiction of the Holocaust, Maus, in approximately 2000-2001, the Library has had a minimal collection of graphic novels available for more mature readers. The titles that were initially selected for this collection tended to be more “high brow” than those purchased by the typical teenager or young adult. They contained subject matter that was a bit more intellectual, or art work that was a bit more, well, artistic than that found in most graphic novels. Books featuring characters that were superheroes were definitely not purchased!

Although most academic libraries, including the ASU Library, traditionally limited their collection of graphic novels, the genre has seen an explosion of interest by the general public. Indeed, many recent feature films have their roots in graphic novels and comics, such as Road to Perdition, A History of Violence, Sin City, V for Vendetta, Constantine, and the X-Men movies. Public library collections have reflected the growing popularity of graphic novels, with these libraries increasingly purchasing large numbers of graphic novels during the latter portion of the 1990’s to the present. In addition to this cultural shift, some experts suggest that graphic novels be used to encourage students young and old alike to read and develop their literacy skills. Both of these reasons help explain why academic libraries have very recently begun to acquire more graphic novels. The scholarly library literature has also picked up the topic; the March, 2006 issue of The Journal of Academic Librarianship devoted an article to graphic novels in academic libraries. [2]

911graphic30.jpgIndeed, in the summer of 2006 the Porter Henderson Library made the decision to purchase a larger selection of graphic novel titles for its patrons. Over 150 titles were purchased at that time, which have been or will be added to either the Juvenile Collection or to the Second Floor stacks. These titles attempt to represent the subject and stylistic diversity of graphic novels available, from Japanese Manga to historical graphic novels to biographies to super heroes to science; from black and white illustrations to color pictures, and realistic drawing to surrealistic art. Many of these titles require original cataloging by the ASU library staff in order to take their place amongst the other Library of Congress cataloged works, so a large percentage of the purchased titles have yet to make it to the library shelf. However, patrons are always welcome to fill out a request form at the Circulation Desk to expedite the processing of a desired title!

cartoonguide20.jpgHow do you determine what graphic novels the library currently owns? Graphic novels are searchable in RamCat the same way that other items are, by title, author, subject, and keyword. To see a list of fictional graphic novels, try a Subject Browse search for the Library of Congress subject heading graphic novels. On the other hand, to find a nonfiction graphic novel, try a Guided Keyword search for the terms cartoons OR comic, the Boolean operator AND, followed by a factual topic. For example, the search for cartoons AND statistics will retrieve the result The Cartoon Guide to Statistics by Larry Gonick. And come see the Library display on Graphic Novels, available soon for viewing in the Library lobby.

______________
1. O’English, L., Matthews, J., & Lindsay, E. (2006, March). Graphic novels in academic libraries: From Maus to manga and beyond. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 32(2), 173-182, 173. Retrieved October 31, 2006, from the Science Direct database.
2. Ibid.

door10.jpg"Angelo Safari Untamed" -- Library and West Texas Style

Staff members at the Porter Henderson Library and the West Texas Collection (WTC) joined in the Homecoming Week 2006 festivities in October by decorating entry doors in both spaces.

doorwtc15.jpgSylvia Davila and Veronica Ramos, Library Assistants in the Cataloging unit, created the decorations on the double doors leading into the Technical Services area of the Library (pictured to the left). Gridiron "stars" and "boosters" on the sidelines -- represented by various characters from the movie Madagascar and other illustrated animals -- included the library director, staff members, student assistants … and even a university president.

WTC staff members collaborated on their own homage to the Homecoming Week theme. Everyone on staff contributed in some form or fashion to their creation (pictured to the right). This door also featured pictures of animals, but real life ones, not the illustrated kind.

The Paperback Collection

Are you in need of some light reading? The Library’s Paperback Collection, located on a rotating rack in Roscoe's Reading Den on the Second Floor of the Library, may be able to help you with that need.

The Collection is supported solely by donations from faculty, staff, and students, and not from library funds. If you have books you would like to donate, contact Javad Maher, Acquisitions Librarian, at 942-2512 or 942-2222, ext. 227. Fiction -- mysteries, science fiction, romances -- will be especially welcome.

Focus on the Media Unit

by Antonella Ward

media.jpgHoused in the Basement of the Porter Henderson Library, the Media Unit collects non-print items in all subject areas in support of the Angelo State University curricula. The Media Unit loans and provides access to a wide range of formats, including videocassettes, audiocassettes, laserdiscs, DVDs, audio CDs, records, and slides. At present, this growing collection holds the following types of media materials:

16mm films 82
Videodiscs (laserdiscs) 100
Slide sets 154
DVDs 1,112
CDs 1,299
Sound cassettes 1,496
Records 2,230
Videocassettes 7,506

Equipment

slideproj.jpg overhead.jpg movieproj.jpg turntable.jpg tvvcr.jpg tapeplayer.jpg

The Media Unit also maintains a small pool of audio-visual equipment for short term loan to ASU faculty and staff, and for in-house use by ASU students. Equipment available in Media is comprised of ¾" and ½" VHS players, 16mm film projectors, slide projectors, overhead projectors, and opaque projectors. Individual listening stations are available for playing and listening to audio cassettes, CDs, and records. A viewing room, equipped with a 26" TV, VCR and DVD players is available for individual or group viewing of DVDs and videocassettes. Only faculty and instructors with a course-related media viewing need may reserve the Media viewing room for group viewings. To reserve the Media viewing room, faculty should contact the Multimedia Support Librarian at (325) 942-2051, Ext. 240, or antonella.ward@angelo.edu.

Circulation Policy

Most media items are available for checkout during regular library hours. ASU faculty can check out media items for 7 days, with the possibility of 2 renewals (if not on hold for another patron), all others with borrowing privileges can check out media items for three days at a time, with the possibility of one renewal. There is no limit on the number of media items that can be borrowed at any given time.

Items borrowed from the Media Unit can be renewed online through the Library’s online catalog, RamCat. (See our instructions for renewing items online at How to Renew Items.) Any items that cannot be renewed must be returned by the due date or fines will accrue. Media fines are $1 a day per item, with a maximum of $25 per item. Those individuals who are unable to renew their items online can bring them to the Media Unit to be renewed. Media items cannot be renewed by telephone.

Return Media items to the Media Unit in the Basement (or to the Circulation Desk when Media is unstaffed). To avoid damage to these items, do not use the book drops.

Requesting Media Purchases

Academic departments may submit requests for the purchase of media items in much the same way that they have done for books. Those items will be paid for out of their book allocations.

It is particularly important that departments provide complete information regarding the media item that they wish the Library to purchase, i.e., title, publisher, etc. When making the request it is highly desirable to supply the Library with advertising or catalog copy.

If a department makes a request for a media item and intends that it will be used in a distance learning situation, please mark the request appropriately, viz. PPL (for "Public Performance License"). The Library will then seek to acquire the version of the item that is licensed for use in that situation. If a media item is intended for general use, or classroom use within a single classroom, and is not expected to be broadcast to other classrooms, it will not be necessary to buy the public performance version; "home use only" versions can be legally used by instructors in a face-to-face classroom situation.

Searching the Media Collection

Our media collection can be searched through RamCat using many of the same strategies to find print materials. You can search by title, subject, director, cast member, call number, and also limit the results further by format ('Videorecording’ or ‘Sound Recording’).

“Basic Search” is a fast way to search for a specific title, director, or cast member, but for doing more in-depth searches, Guided Keyword Search offers the most options and yields the best results. Here are a few of the most common search strategies.

Search Media Items by Title

  1. Go to RamCat.
  2. In the ‘Search for’ box, type the title of the video, omitting any initial articles (“a”, “an”, or “the”).
  3. From the Quick Limit menu, choose Sound Recordings or Videorecordings.
  4. From the ‘Search by’ menu, choose “Title begins with”.
  5. Click the Search button to view the results of your search. If your search retrieves more than one title, you will receive a list of titles. To view the items, click on the title.

Search Media Items by Name

  1. Go to RamCat.
  2. In the ‘Search for’ box, type the last name and then the first initial or name (if known) of the person.
  3. From the ‘Find Results by’ menu, choose “Author.”
  4. Click the Search button to view the results of your search. If your search retrieves more than one title, you will receive a list of titles. To view the items, click on the title.

The above search will not bring up only media items. To limit a Name Search, you must use an Advanced Search.

Search Media Items by Keyword (Guided Keyword Search)

  1. Go to RamCat.
  2. Go to "Guided Keyword Search" screen.
  3. Click on the "Set Multiple Limits" button (lower right corner of screen).
  4. Within the Search Limits option box, there are several different limits. You can apply one or more limits to your search. To limit your search to media items, select Sound Recording or Videorecording under the Format field. To limit your search to items in the media collection, select "Media" under the Location heading.
  5. Click Set Limits. Red bold text will appear on the screen stating: "Search Limits are in effect!" To remove any limits you have set, click on the Clear Limits button in the lower-right corner of the Basic Search screen.
  6. Go to the "Guided Keyword Search" screen.
  7. In the "Search for" box, type search keywords. Do not use "or," "and," or "not" between terms. Also omit initial articles ("a," "an," or "the").
  8. Click on the "all of these terms" menu, and choose the appropriate option. If you entered a phrase, choose "as a phrase." If you entered multiple keywords, but not as a phrase, select "all of these."
  9. From the ‘Search by’ menu, select a specific type of keyword search (e.g., Subject Words).
  10. Click the Search button to view the results of your search. If your search retrieves more than one item, you will get a list of titles. To view the full record for an item, click on the title.

View All Titles in the Media Collection

  1. Go to RamCat.
  2. Click on the "Set Multiple Limits" button (lower right corner of screen).
  3. Select "Media" under the Location heading.
  4. Click Set Limits. Red bold text will appear on the screen stating: "Search Limits are in effect!"
  5. In the "Search for" box, type "videorecording" (without the quotation marks).
  6. Click the Search button to view the results of your search. To view the full record for an item, click on the title.
  7. To obtain a list of all sound recordings in the Media collection, after performing steps 1-4, in the Search box, type "sound recording" without the quotation marks, then select "as a phrase" from the pull down menu next to the Search for’ box. Click the Search button to view the results of your search.

Media Reserves

Faculty/instructors may wish to place media titles on reserve for a particular course. More than one course can reserve the same titles during a particular semester. Students will still be expected to view the titles in the library. To place media titles on reserve, faculty are required to fill out the "Course Reserve Request Form"

Curriculum AV Materials

The Media Unit also houses all of the AV materials accompanying Curriculum Collection textbooks the Library receives on a yearly basis from the Region XV Education Service Center. Curriculum AV items are non-circulating; they cannot be checked out and taken outside of the Library, but they can be used in-house, with the aid of the equipment kept in the Media area.

Microform Collection

reel75.jpgMost microforms are housed in the Microform cabinets located in the Library basement, adjacent to the Media Unit. These microform collections include back issues of several major newspapers, many journals and periodicals, ERIC documents. Journal and periodical microfiche/film are filed alphabetically by title and, within that alphabetical order, chronologically, earliest date first.

Library users may view microforms free of charge. The Library provides three microform reader/ printers stations immediately adjacent to the location where the microform resources are housed. The area is designed for self-service access, with Media staff on hand to help locate materials or use the equipment. Microforms do not circulate.

bluefiche50.jpgPrintouts can be made from microforms on a self-service basis at a cost of 10¢ per page.

For payment, the reader/printers only accept coins. The coin boxes do not provide change, so exact change is recommended. Change is available in the Library from two change machines, one located by the copy machine in the Basement, the other located by the Circulation desk on the 1st floor.

Other Media Services

For a modest fee, departmental personnel make transparencies, custom microform printing, and laminations for university students, staff, and faculty members.

Census Bureau Data Underscore Value of College Degree

(reprinted: Census Bureau News Release, October 26, 2006)

Adults age 18 and older with a bachelor’s degree earned an average of $51,554 in 2004, while those with a high school diploma earned $28,645, according to new tabulations released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Those without a high school diploma earned an average of $19,169.

The series of tables, Educational Attainment in the United States: 2005, also showed advanced-degree holders made an average of $78,093.

avgearnings.jpgOther highlights from the tables:

  • In 2005, 85 percent of all adults 25 years or older reported they had completed at least high school. More than one-quarter (28 percent) of adults age 25 years and older had attained at least a bachelor's degree.
  • High school graduation rates for women (ages 25 years and older) continued to exceed those of men, 85.4 percent and 84.9 percent, respectively. On the other hand, men had a greater proportion of the population with a bachelor's degree or higher (28.9 percent compared with 26.5 percent of women).
  • Non-Hispanic whites had the highest proportion of adults with a high school diploma or higher (90 percent), followed by Asians (88 percent), blacks (81 percent) and Hispanics (59 percent).
  • Utah, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire and Alaska continued to have the highest proportions of people 25 years and older with a high school diploma or higher (around 92 percent).
  • The District of Columbia had the highest proportion of people 25 years and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher (47 percent), followed closely by Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland and New Jersey.

Fourteen tables of data on educational trends are available, and attainment levels are shown by characteristics such as age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, occupation, industry, nativity and period of entry, as well as metropolitan and nonmetropolitan residence. The tabulations also include data on earnings and educational attainment. Although the statistics provided are primarily at the national level, some data are shown for regions and states.

(The data are from the 2005 Current Population Survey’s (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC). The ASEC is conducted in February, March and April at about 100,000 addresses nationwide.)

Links: Educational Attainment in the United States, 2005:
Detailed Tables: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/education/cps2005.html
News release: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/007660.html.

For I continue to believe that a liberal-arts education provides the best foundation for the 21st-century citizen ... There is simply nothing better than the liberal arts to prepare brains to accommodate the pace of today's world, where knowledge change so quickly you can't master any field, but can only gain the fundamentals and the ability to acquire the rest.

-- Ann Kirshner, The Future of the Liberal Arts: Alma Mater in the Time of TiVo.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, from the issue dated December 9, 2006.
Retrieved November 2, 2006, from the The Chronicle’s web site: http://chronicle.com/weekly/v52/i16/16b00601.htm

Veterans Day 2006: November 11

WWIIvets35.jpgDesigned to commemorate the end of World War I, "the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals," Veterans Day originated as "Armistice Day" on November 11, 1918. Congress first proclaimed "Armistice Day" in 1926, resolving that "the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations." "Armistice Day" became "Veterans Day" in 1954 as a result of legislation signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The name was changed to honor all who served the nation in wars or conflicts. Veterans Day has been observed annually on this date since 1978, except for a brief period when it was celebrated on the fourth Monday of October.

Many people confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle.

While those who died are also remembered on Veterans Day, Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor all those who served honorably in the military – in wartime or peacetime. In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank living veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served – not only those who died – have sacrificed and done their duty.

The United States has 24.5 million military veterans: 1.7 million are women, 9.5 million are age 65 or over, 8.1 million are Vietnam-era veterans, and 3.9 million are World War II veterans. Sixteen percent of Persian Gulf War veterans in 2004 were women. Thirty-three percent of all veterans served in Vietnam; sixteen percent served during World War II.

Many veterans served during more than one conflict:

  • 412,000 served during both the Vietnam era and in the Gulf War;
  • 343,000 served during both the Korean War and the Vietnam conflict;
  • 80,000 served during three periods: World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam conflict;
  • 306,000 served in World War II and the Korean War.

There are 2.4 million black veterans. Additionally, 1.1 million veterans are Hispanic; 293,000 are Asian (up from 276,000); 170,000 are American Indian or Alaska native (down from 185,000); and 28,000 are native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander (up from 25,000).

In the 2004 presidential election, 17.4 million veterans voted. Seventy-four percent of veterans cast a ballot, compared with 63 percent of non-vets.

Additional information on veterans can be found in the Census Bureau’s "Veterans Day" release at http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2006/cb06ff-17.pdf.

(Photo above: "D-Day veterans US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Wayne Chase and USAF First Lieutenant (Ret) Robert Shantz, 15th Troop Carrier Squadron, show their respects during a wreath laying ceremony at Montebourg, France, June 6, 2004," the 60th Anniversary of the Normandy invasion during World War II. (Camera operator: TSGT Wayne Clark (USAF). Photo and information provided by the Defense Visual Information Center.))

oldsoldier50.jpg November 13, 1982: Joseph Ambrose, an 86-year-old World War I veteran, attended the dedication day parade for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He is holding the flag that covered the casket of his son, who was killed in the Korean War. (Photo by Mickey Sanborn, provided by the Defense Visual Information Center.)