WHY PEOPLE USE THE LIBRARY 69

Fiction: Light fiction is borrowed almost equally by men
and women, perhaps slightly more by women—especially
housewives and unemployed women. Those with a high
- school education—both men and women—borrow more light
~fiction than does any other educational group. Men read ad-
venture and western stories; women read love and romance
stories.

Women are the heaviest borrowers of good modern fiction.
Of both sexes, those with a college education withdraw more
of this type of fiction than any other educational group. Re-
flecting education to some extent, the occupational groups
which borrow most heavily in this category are the profes-
sional groups, tradesmen, clerical workers, students, and
housewives.

Classical fiction, on the other hand, is borrowed more by
men than by women. The college educated of both sexes
withdraw most of the classical fiction, and—again reflecting
education—professional women, clerical men, and students are
the major occupational groups borrowing this kind of book.

Nonfiction: In general, more men than women withdraw
nonfiction from the public library, except for the categories
of travel and biography, which more women borrow. The
younger groups borrow more nonfiction than do the older
groups (reflecting school-related borrowing), but the older
groups borrow more in the field of social sciences. Education
is reflected in the fact that college-educated persons of both
sexes and professional groups and tradesmen are the heaviest
borrowers of nonfiction.

REFERENCE SERVICES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARYZ® The refer-
ence and information services of the public library are not

*It is important to note that this section is concerned with the reference
services of the public library in terms of organizational structure rather
than of function. That is, some use of the circulation services of the library
may be made for reference purposes; that type of service is not mentioned
here.