A loyal reader asks: Does anyone go to the library anymore?

Oh reader! As huge library fans, we hope so.

Here’s what we learned.

Pew Internet (we love those guys!) just came out with a new study. Evidently, of the 53 percent of U.S. adults who said they visited a library in 2007, Gen Y-ers (18-30 year olds) are the biggest users. Shocking. The study said that compared to the older folks, Gen Y members were the most likely to use libraries for problem-solving information and in general patronage for any purpose. And these young adults also say most frequently that they will use libraries in the future.

This is a good sign for libraries.

Read the study. You’ll see that computers are a huge part of the library experience these days. No big surprise. But still, we at Scherer Cybrarian love libraries and were excited to see that the trends are positive. (Note: Our local library is always packed. So anecdotally, we felt good about this already!)

Another dataset to consider:

The first annual report on the State of America’s Libraries, the American Library Association says:

• Almost 90% of Americans are satisfied with their public libraries. Most agree that public libraries are under-funded and need more support.
• Libraries are keeping up with the times—and with the public’s needs.
• Libraries are experiencing great local support and are growing and adding services and enhancements, including serious connectivity. State funding has decreased, and the public support has made the difference.
  
• 1.8 billion visitors checked out more than 2 billion items from U.S. libraries in fiscal year 2004.
• Circulation and participation at American public libraries continue to rise.
• Almost 2/3 of Americans have a library card.
  

A reader asks: I was following a blog on Carepages where this guy had some pithy quote from pop culture almost every day. No one remembers all those lines! How can I be as cool as Steve?

Oh, reader. You probably can’t be quite as cool as he is. But here are some suggestions…

Check out Quotegeek. Very fun.

We ran a search on HOPE. Found these (among others…)

Red: Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.
Movies > The Shawshank Redemption

Gloria: Joanie, you are now a world-class hopeless romantic.Joan Wilder: No, hopeful. Hopeful romantic.
Movies > Romancing the Stone

Man can’t help hoping even if he is a scientist. He can only hope more accurately.
Love Against Hate
Personalities > Karl Menninger

For you patient searchers (you know who you are!) try Fagan Finder’s Quote Search. Here there are 20 or 30 different quote search engines to try! It’s hard to imagine you won’t find something good here.

We’re always looking for great research quotes. We know. It’s not the most fascinating subject to everyone. So as an experiment, we tried some of the engines…

From Quotez

Research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing.
Wernher von Braun

From Board of Wisdom

one of our all time favorites (you may have heard this from us before!)

Copy from one, it’s plagiarism; copy from many, it’s research.
Wilson Mizner

If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?
Albert Einstein

From Said What

Advertising people who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals.
David Ogilvy

Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind.
Marston Bates

And if you’re more in the mood for a good cliche, check out Cliche Finder.

Until next time!

Yes (yawn, yawn) another Google product — Google Finance. As annoying as it might be, the fact is that they keep doing it right. So check it out.

It is in Beta stage at this point (which Google product is NOT in Beta?)

You can search with a company name, stock symbol or even with a general term. I searched for “advertising agency” and it showed 175 results and listed the biggies right there.

I tried Applebee’s (my Dad’s favorite!) and found:

Market Data
News
Company Facts (revenue, profit, etc.)
Site links: News Releases, Financial Information, Corporate History/Profile, Products/Services, Employment Opportunities
Company Financials Quarterly and Annual Income Statement
Balance Sheet
Competitors
Analyst Estimates
SEC Filings
Major Holders
Discussion Group
Options
Research Reports
Events
Comparison Charts
Company Summary
Management Info
Blog Posts (wow!)

It’s well-organized and has real depth. This is a great place to start for getting consolidated information on companies.

Great job, Google. Again.

We know a lot of search engines, as I’m sure you’d imagine! So when someone sends me something new, it’s very exciting. A world renowned medical writer sent me this:

Scirus is the most comprehensive science-specific search engine on the Internet. Driven by the latest search engine technology, Scirus searches over 250 million science-specific Web pages, enabling you to quickly:

• Pinpoint scientific, scholarly, technical and medical data on the Web.
• Find the latest reports, peer-reviewed articles, patents, pre prints and journals that other search engines miss.
• Offer unique functionalities designed for scientists and researchers.

Definitely worth a look. Very cool.