106 CONCENTRATION OF USE

equally represented in the clientele and in the population,
but were half again as numerous among the most frequent
users. White-collar people were equally represented in all
three groups, and wage earners were grossly under-represented
both among the clientele and among the most frequent bor-
rowers. Finally, students were over-represented in the clientele
as compared with the population, but under-represented
among the most frequent users.

Thus, the comparison of the adult population, the library’s
total group of borrowers, and the library’s most active bor-
rowers differs for each of the basic personal characteristics
analyzed. Moreover, the social composition of the most ac-
tive group of users differs markedly from that of the bor-
rowers as a whole, from that of the total registration, and
from that of the adult population.

KINDS OF BOOKS BORROWED BY ‘‘HEAVY” AND “LIGHT’ USERS
The Montclair study also shows that the kinds of books bor-
rowed by “heavy” and “light” readers differ (Table 39). In
both 1945 and 1947 fully three fourths of the titles circulated
to the “heavy” users were fiction, as compared with less than
one half for the titles borrowed by “light” users. This con-
centration of fiction circulation among the “heavy” users
probably reflects the presence of housewives among the
group, just as the concentration of nonfiction among the
“light” users probably reflects the presence of students. In any
case, the people who borrowed the most books from this li-
brary were those who took out the highest proportion of
fiction.®

*It would be particularly instructive for the public library if similar figures
were available for the “quality” of reading done by the “heavy” and “light”
readers. Do those who use the library most, borrow more of the “poor”
books?