News & Trends : Fast Stats

June 2009

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10.5 million Number of sheets of paper that were used last year in Princeton University campus clusters—equivalent to 100,000 reams of paper, or about 5,000 trees. Princeton cited this figure on its Web site when explaining why it is participating in the Kindle DX E-reader Pilot Program this fall. The university hopes that students’ use of the Kindle DX will reduce their desire to print or photocopy without hindering their ability to learn.

55% Percentage of U.S. adults, about 120 million, who bought at least one book (including gifts) last year.
Source: Simmons Market Research Bureau, compiled by Simba Information (Trends In Trade Book Retailing, 2009)

$169.6 billion Amount the world market for book publishing is forecast to reach by 2015. Elementary, high school and college textbooks will be the prime driver of growth in the industry.
Source: “Book Publishing: A Global Market Report,” Global Industry Analysts Inc.

18 million Number of copies of books in Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight Saga”—including “Breaking Dawn,” “New Moon,” “Twilight” and “Eclipse”—that were sold worldwide in the first quarter of 2009, according to Lagardere, which owns Meyer’s publisher Hachette Book Group. Hachette’s overall worldwide sales increased 11.9 percent for the first quarter of 2009 compared to last year’s first quarter.