74 WHY PEOPLE USE THE LIBRARY

and selected branches in Detroit. Heavy student use of branch
services is revealed, as well as the extent of miscellaneous uses
of the reference services of the large public library.

SUBJECT MATTER OF REFERENCE SERVICE Most of the pub-
lic library’s reference questions deal with the subject matter
of four main fields: the social sciences, history and biogra-
phy, the pure and applied sciences, and literature, in that
order (Table 33). These fields, which are very broad and in-:
clusive as well as internally varied, supply from one quarter
to one seventh, respectively, of the reference questions handled:
by the public library. Together they account for over 8o
percent of all queries. The subject content of the reference
service of the public library thus differs from that of the cir-
culation services.

OTHER SERVICES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Although the cir-
culation of books and the provision of information through its:
reference department are the two major services of the publie
library, there are several other activities in which it engages:
to a lesser extent. Such services have seldom been investigqted |
systematically and ob]ectlvely, but there are some data in the
research literature for review.

LIBRARY USE OF NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES Althought
most public libraries provide newspapers and magazines as
well as books, it is the latter which constitute the main articles®
of public library service. Current newspapers are supplied by
the public library to a tiny group of specialized patrons. Only"
about 2 percent of a national sample of adults said that they_f
sometimes “go to the public library to read the newspapers. S
The public library’s collection of newspapers is more im=
portant for scholarly research and historical purposes than

*SRC, 1948.