NOoIw ==

 

5

HOW MUCH DO PEOPLE USE
THE LIBRARY?

ALTHOUGH IT IS CONVENIENT to set up an arbitrary defi-
nition of “radio listener” or “movie goer” or “book reader,”
this does not mean that individuals within these groups make
equal use of communication media. Not all “radio listeners”
listen the same amount or to the same kinds of program, and
not all “book readers” read the same number or kinds of
books. Up to this point we have dealt with these groups as
homogeneous units for purposes of general description and
analysis. Let us now refine our concept of exposure to the
five major media of communication, as an introduction to an
analysis of the concentration of library use.

CONCENTRATION-DISPERSION OF USE AMONG THE MAJOR
MEDIA OF COMMUNICATION There are differences in the
intensity or frequency of use for each of the media. Some
people spend much time reading, or viewing, or listening,
and some only a little (even though all may qualify as users
under the broad definition). This accounts for what may be
called “concentration-dispersion” of communication expo-
sure, that is, the unevenness with which the total amount of
exposure is distributed among the members of the audience.
If every movie goer saw the same number of films, then
there would be no concentration of exposure in that medium.
But if a relatively few members of the audience went to the
theater very frequently and the rest’only seldom, there would
be high concentration of exposure. Actually, there is some