This essay on library book selection critiques Nora Rawlinson's article on practices at the Baltimore County Public Library which appeared in Library Journal, November 15, 1981, p. 2188, and discusses library circulation statistics in relation to book selection. (EJS)

It was hypothesized that adults borrow books from the public library primarily as a result of browsing and that what facilitates browsing will significantly increase circulation. This report is on a study of the effects on public library circulation of putting a group of adult titles in a prime physical location. (15 references) (Author/NH)

A Braille Reader Survey Analysis was prepared for the Division for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress in 1974 in order to determine what kinds of books and magazines current braille readers like to read, and to obtain information about braille readers. The survey mailing list was gleaned from subscription lists of four…

Analysis of book circulation patterns in a library serving low-income New York young people, predominantly Black and Hispanic, showed that books centering on Black and Third World studies went out almost twice as often as all other books, especially in areas where these books were concentrated. (Author/EB)

This study identified distinguished children's books read by students attending two elementary schools in Honolulu, Hawaii, and analyzed the effect of reading ability on children's choice of reading material. Average reading scores on the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) were above the norm for students attending one school and at or below the norm…

To test the strength of a booklist as a selection aid, an experimental/control group research design was used in the Lexington Library of the Davidson County (North Carolina) Public Library System to measure the effect of a booklist on the circulation of a group of fiction books that had not been checked out from the library in 4 years or longer.…

Discusses benefits of booktalks, including encouraging children to read good literature, guiding students' reading selections, and increasing library circulation; and offers suggestions for successful booktalks, including techniques to calm young children. (LRW)

Describes development of the nonprofit Hug-a Book program to provide preschool sites in impoverished areas of Chicago with quality children's literature. The program assists teachers in planning curricula and literacy-rich environments and helps parents in making books a part of their homes. Suggests appropriate books and criteria for their…

This study was conducted in l978/79 to test the hypothesis that the circulation of books put in a prominent display location would increase because of the tendency of adults to select books in public libraries by browsing, rather than looking for specific titles. The circulation of all copies of a sample of ll5 titles from the adult individual…

A study examined the impact of state funding on school library programs in Indiana. Subjects included 1,479 city, suburban, and rural schools which completed survey forms. Results indicated that rural schools had the highest number of books purchased, highest circulation, and highest reading scores. Findings suggest that an average purchase of two…

The experimental program described was conducted at an inner-city school media center located on Chicago's west side to encourage students from an orally-oriented background to make use of library materials and feel comfortable with library surroundings and lending procedures. (LLS)

A study of genre fiction classification used circulation data and a patron questionnaire to test whether physically separating fiction into categories will increase use; marking spines with category labels will increase use; use of classified fiction will increase with library size; and classification will increase the number of different books…

This report describes the design, implementation, and impact of a book loan program in an inner-city preschool where books were freely and easily available to low-income primarily Spanish-speaking families, most of whom are recent immigrants. Data collected included check-out frequency, book titles, student participation, and field notes of the…

Describes a study that explored the possible relationship between the use of school library materials, participation in paperback books clubs, and the reading achievement of rural sixth graders. Results suggest the importance of the elementary school library media specialist in encouraging reading and assisting with student selection of books.…