FURTHER RESEARCH NEEDED I21

can stimulate certain kinds of reading through the library’s
policy and practice in book selection, by providing some
titles, but not others.

The relative effectiveness of these methods for different
groups of people is not known, although knowledge of this
sort should be of great value for the practical operation of the
library. Within what limits can the composition of the book
stock influence circulation? Is a careful selection process more
influential on reading patterns than all the promotional activi-
ties combined? How many and what kinds of clients would
the library lose if it “upgraded” its book collection over a pe-
riod of time? Does the public library really lead people from
“poorer” to “better” reading, and if so, how? The answers to
such questions can be sought through a program of systematic
research.

RESEARCH ON SOCIAL EFFECTS OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Fi-
nally—and this involves a long-range program of research—
there is the matter of the social effect of the public library.
That there are social effects of library service no librarian
would deny, but the attempts to define them, much less docu-
ment them, have not progressed far. Assertions that the public
library is effective in developing “an informed citizenry,” or
in widening opportunity within the community, or in pro-
moting democratic values are a part of the standard rationale
for the public library, yet little systematic study has been de-
voted to such basic functions of library practice.* The public
library is supposed to minimize political apathy within the
community, and yet we do not know whether it does. The
best hypothesis from current investigations is that the public
library never gets a chance to influence the apathetic, because
it never comes in contact with them. To what extent is the

‘For an example developed as a by-product of another study see Berelson,
1945.