The article below is from a new report (released in Feb) looks good. The attachment is interesting. Let me know if you want anything else!

This is older, but worth a glance:

Corporate Learning Budgets Rising, But Salary Spending Remains Flat, Says Bersin and Associates February 15, 2007

The corporate learning market continues to grow, with company budget increases averaging 7 percent, according to the Bersin and Associates’ 2007 Corporate Learning Factbook. Total training spending grew from $51.1 billion in 2005 to $55.8 billion in 2006; spending on products and services grew from $13.5 billion in 2005 to $15.8 billion in 2006. While budgets have increased, salary spending over the last four years has remained relatively flat.

In 2005, 73 cents of every training dollar went to payroll expenses; in 2006, payroll expenses were 65 cents of every dollar.

Other findings from the study include:

• Learning technologies are widely used by companies of all sizes.
• Almost 60% of respondents use virtual classroom technologies, 40% have learning management systems, 25 to 30% use application simulation and rapid e-learning tools, and 14% use learning content management systems.
• The average spending per learner is $1,273. The highest spending sector is technology ($2,763) and the lowest is retail ($519).
• When it comes to learning programs, sales training and management/supervisory training are the program priorities for most learning organizations.
• Outsourcing continues to grow, with highest planned increases in custom content development and LMS hosting.

Bersin & Associates claims the study is the most detailed and up-to-date view of corporate learning and development available. Said Karen O’Leonard, research director for the study, “Our rigorous research methodology, combined with the extensive survey database we have built over the last few years, gives us a unique ability to quantify key metrics and provide fact-supported analysis of important trends.”

Yes, it has. But not as dramatically as you might think. Check this out:

Time spent listening overall has decreased by 3 hours and 15 minutes per week in the past 10 years. That is a lot. But the past 5 years have slowed, with a loss of just over an hour. So the biggest changes in total listening was from 1997 through 2002.

In looking at the demographic of most interest to our reader (thanks for sending such a great question, by the way!), we’ve compiled the data from years of Arbitron reports. Note that 2002 is missing. The trends look a lot like the above chart – steady decreases. Notice also, that men consistently listen more than women. (click on the chart and it gets nice & big!)

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.
  

No problem. This is easy peasy…

Just go to Skinny Zips and choose your criteria. The state and the married bullet. You have other choices too. And check out the site for more ZIP CODE FUN!

Top ZIP codes for selected area based on percent of population over the age of 15 which is currently married.

66734 FARLINGTON 88.50%
67128 RAGO 88%
67670 STUTTGART 87.20%
66930 AGENDA 86.60%
67639 GLADE 85.30%
66970 WEBBER 85.10%
66932 ATHOL 82.70%
67743 LEVANT 81.50%
67656 OGALLAH 79.80%
67868 PIERCEVILLE 79.50%
67041 ELBING 79.50%
66014 CENTERVILLE 79.40%
66221 SHAWNEE MISSION 79%
66220 SHAWNEE MISSION 79%
66438 HOME 78.60%
67351 LIBERTY 78.50%
66746 HEPLER 78.30%
66838 BURDICK 78.10%
67028 COATS 77.80%
66218 SHAWNEE MISSION 77.40%
67458 LONGFORD 77.40%
66226 SHAWNEE MISSION 77.30%
66224 SHAWNEE MISSION 77.10%
66077 POTTER 76.50%
66079 RANTOUL 76.20%
67205 WICHITA 76%
67235 WICHITA 75.80%
67134 SAWYER 75.70%
66775 STARK 75.70%
67065 ISABEL 75.50%
66223 SHAWNEE MISSION 75.20%
67882 WRIGHT 75.10%
67512 ALDEN 75%
67664 PRAIRIE VIEW 74.90%
67230 WICHITA 74.80%
67120 PECK 74.60%
66429 GRANTVILLE 74.50%
67522 BUHLER 74.20%
66543 VASSAR 74.20%
66409 BERRYTON 74%
74 FORT LEAVENWORTH 73.80%
67102 MAPLE CITY 73.80%
67647 LONG ISLAND 73.80%
66610 TOPEKA 73.70%
67422 BENNINGTON 73.60%
66008 BENDENA 73.50%
66515 MORRILL 73.50%
67341 DENNIS 73.20%
67520 BISON 73.20%
67144 TOWANDA 73.10%
67021 BYERS 73%
66085 STILWELL 73%
67112 NASHVILLE 72.90%
66618 TOPEKA 72.80%
66546 WAKARUSA 72.80%
66963 RANDALL 72.80%
67510 ABBYVILLE 72.70%
66412 BREMEN 72.60%
66939 COURTLAND 72.60%
67658 PARADISE 72.50%
67737 GRAINFIELD 72.50%
67745 MC DONALD 72.40%
67215 WICHITA 72.30%
66432 HAVENSVILLE 72.30%
67342 EDNA 72.20%
67073 LEHIGH 72.10%
67491 WINDOM 72.10%
66209 SHAWNEE MISSION 72.10%
66953 LINN 72.10%
67953 RICHFIEL 72%
67474 PORTIS 72%
66741 GARLAND 71.90%
66872 WHITE CITY 71.80%
67867 MONTEZUMA 71.70%
67857 KENDALL 71.70%
67122 PIEDMONT 71.70%
66541 SUMMERFIELD 71.70%
67416 ASSARIA 71.60%
66440 HOYT 71.50%
67066 IUKA 71.50%
67106 MILTON 71.40%
66524 OVERBROOK 71.40%
67150 WALDRON 71.40%
66514 MILFORD 71.20%
66070 OZAWKIE 71.20%
67626 BUNKER HILL 71.20%
67870 SATANTA 71.10%
67017 BENTON 71.10%
67673 WALDO 71.10%
67659 PENOKEE 71.10%
66842 CASSODAY 71%
67344 ELK CITY 71%
67838 DEERFIELD 70.90%
66516 NETAWAKA 70.90%
66617 TOPEKA 70.90%
67752 QUINTER 70.90%
67151 WALTON 70.80%
66840 BURNS 70.80%
67111 MURDOCK 70.80%
66507 MAPLE HILL 70.80%

Consider these statistics:

• A November, 2005, survey by Boston’s Yankee Group found that more than 30% of businesses with 20 to 99 employees and 40% of those with 2 to 19 staffers were using local search engine advertising.
• About 55% of consumers used a search engine to find information about a local business last year, up from 47% in 2003, according to Kelsey Group.

One of the tools being used by these businesses to optimize their ad spending is the use of local search. In this case, advertisers can select a radius around a city, and then only display ads (and be charged for clicks) to searchers within that radius. The technology used to locate searchers is called geolocation. Basically, the technology works by associating IP addresses with specific geographic locations, with the result that the search engine you use knows where your computer is located, and can display ads of local businesses.