PO E =

82 WHY PEOPLE USE THE LIBRARY

the library (Table 34) than by others.** Thus, the new serv-
ices would not so much attract new people to the public
library as provide fuller and more satisfactory services to the
people who already use the library. Being more culturally
alert in general, they would be more likely to extend their
use to cover the new as well as the traditional services of the
public library. Briefly, the new activities would provide a
supplementary service for the library’s present clientele.

GENERAL SATISFACTION WITH PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE Use
of the public library is conditioned to some extent by the
public’s attitude toward the institution. What do people
think of the public library in their community? Are they sat-
isfied or dissatisfied with its services> What suggestions do
they make for the improvement or extension of library serv-
ice? Although not many studies have dealt with such ques-
tions, there are some general data available.

By and large, there is general satisfaction with public library
service. About 75 percent of the library clientele report that
they are able to get-what they want from the public library;
about 20 percent report partial satisfaction (Table 35). Rela-
tively few library users were unable to satisfy their reading
or informational demands at the public library.

MAJOR COMPLAINTS OF LIBRARY CLIENTELE Whether this
record should be deplored or accepted with pride, however,
depends upon the nature of the dissatisfactions expressed by

*Although this is true in relative terms, as Table 34 shows, the present users
would not dominate the new services in absolute terms. If the assumptions
involved are accepted—and they are dubious—then present library users
would make up only about one fourth of the clientele for the new services,
former users about half, and nonusers about one fourth. Some libraries have
informally reported that such new services do attract many new users to the
public library. In a study of film forums in public libraries, 79 percent of the
audience in four large cities (Cleveland, Detroit, Knoxville, New York) had
library cards (Joint Committee, 1944).