68 WHY PEOPLE USE THE LIBRARY

reading from the public library and more of their “poorer”
reading from other sources. In this case the public library
supplied 67 percent of all the “quality” books read by chil-
dren but only 43 percent of all the “nonquality” books.”
Some observers believe that this is due to the greater selec-
tivity exercised by public librarians in choosing books for
children as against adults. Also, children are not influenced
so much by book reviews. At the same time, in another
study® the public library was an important and even major
source of “light fiction” for high school students, as shown
by the distribution of detective, adventure, and romance
novels by various agencies in two small New York towns.
The public library supplied about half of all such fiction in
the two communities, considerably more than the students
secured from their school libraries.

PERCENTAGES
Sources of
“Light Fiction” Extown Wytown
Public library 44 52
Personal library and friends 33 24
School library 14 20
Other 9 4

TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

144 409
Source: Waples and Carnovsky, 1939.

CLIENTELE AND KINDS OF BOOKS CIRCULATED Very little
has been done to combine the known data concerning the
users of the public library with the kinds of books circulated.
In so far as relevant information has appeared, it can be
roughly summarized as follows.

“The ratio of “quality” to “nonquality” books supplied by the school
library (18 to 12 percent) was about the same as that for the public library.

*Waples and Carnovsky, 1939.