Research and Market Releases Book Stores Retailing Report

The good news is that Research and Markets has released the “2008 Worldwide Book Stores Retailing Industry Report”, which includes information on establishments, employment, and sales totals (with forecasts for 2009), 5-year trends, and coverage of many many countries. The bad news is that the cheapest copy is a PDF for $266. Details at http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2c50fe/2008_worldwide_boo .

We’re Reading Less, But MAN We Love our In-Home Libraries

The Wall Street Journal has an alternately hilarious and disturbing article noting that people are reading less, but at the same time in-home libraries are becoming more fashionable. Some people are stocking the shelves with pretty books (“decorator books”) that they don’t have time to read.

(“Michael Burkitt and his wife, Roberta, own an estimated 9,000 books, all hardbound, which they keep in two formal libraries in their new, 5,800-square-foot home in Reno, Nev., and their 3,800-square-foot vacation house in Newport Coast, Calif. Mr. Burkitt, 65, the recently retired co-owner of a structural-plastics firm, says he’s been too busy working most of his life to read even a fraction of them.”)

On the other hand, some folks own libraries stuffed with books they actually read, like Jay McInerney and Dan Poag. Poor Dan Poag, who owns an estimated 10,000 books: “Since nearly every wall of his current house is filled with books, his decorator urged him to re-cover them so their multicolored spines wouldn’t clash with the décor.” Ack! He refused, by the way.

BRAC Bringing Massive Growth to Cumberland County

Why am I reading a growth in Cumberland County in the Daily Tar Heel? Oh well, I’m not picky. The article covers the changes expected by the BRAC (Base Closure and Realignment Commission) and notes “Eleven counties and 73 municipalities surrounding Fort Bragg formed the BRAC Regional Task Force, which encourages economic development and addresses the challenges presented by the growth.” This region is supposed to expand by almost 41,000 people by 2013, and will include active-duty military, Army civilians, and all their families.

The Regional Task Force already has a Web site at http://www.bracrtf.com/. There’s an extensive amount of information here — unfortunately mostly in PDF format — and a PACKED community activities calendar.

97 Different Languages In North Carolina?

I like The Rhino Times, but I’ll confess that this quote from a recent article gave me pause:

“There are about 97 different languages being spoken in North Carolina according to estimates from the state.”

Apparently the Guilford County Sheriff’s department is okay with English and Spanish, but after that doesn’t have much in the line of resources. A grant is going to let the department experiment with handheld translators that will broadcast phrases officers need to speak — but the translators only cover 40 languages. Are we still 57 languages short?

“Sharon Harrison-Pope, grants manager for the Sheriff’s Department, said about 36,000 Guilford County residents – roughly 8 percent of the population – speak a language other than English as their primary language.”

Spanish, right? Not necessarily…

“… some of the more popular recent additions to the county’s language menagerie were Vietnamese, Laotian, Korean and Farsi.”

The Heck is Forbes Ranking Colleges For?

Well, they are. Forbes has released its inaugural top college rankings, sorting over 560 colleges. Going to the link above you can sort by ranking, state, etc. Ranked #1? Princeton. Ranked #569? Milwaukee School of Engineering.

NC Unemployment Jumps to 6.6%

North Carolina unemployment was at 6.6% in July. Lots of sectors flat and down, with leisure and hospitality getting a little bump. Full story from Charlotte Business Journal.

Census Bureau Guesses What We’re Gonna Look Like

The US Census Bureau has put out a press release guessing on the makeup of the nation by 2030 and 2050. You can see the whole press release here but here are some highlights:

Minorities Become Majority — Minorities are expected to become the majority in 2042, with the country projected to be 54 percent minority in 2050. By 2023, over 50 percent of all children will be minorities.

Population Gets Older — By 2030, nearly one in five US residents is expected to be 65 and older. Currently there are 38.7 million residents 65 and older; by 2050 it’s expected to be 88.5 million. The 85+ population is expected to increase from 5.4 million to 19 million between 2008 and 2050.

Working Pop Shrinks — Meanwhile, the population in the “working ages” of 18 to 64 is going to decline from 63 percent in 2008 to 57 percent in 2050. You don’t need a crystal ball to figure out that we’re all going to be redefining what “working ages” actually means.

The people of the country are going to be changing, but there’s going to be more of us as well. The nation is projected to hit a population of 400 million in 2039.