Do you find choosing fiction in the library easy or difficult?

Survey question in How Reader's Select Fiction by Lyn Sear and Barbara Jennings, Research & Development Report, No. 9, 1986.

Survey Question:

• Talking in a general way, do you find choosing fiction in the library easy or difficult?

Those surveyed:

• 135 borrowers

Time of survey:

• October 1985


• Weekdays and Saturdays
  

Location of surveys:

• Strood Library: 17,000 volumes


• Tunbridge Library: 23,900 volumes


• Maidstone Library: 39,900 volumes

Survey results:

• 12% of patrons claimed choosing fiction books is difficult.


• 45 % of patrons claimed choosing books was sometimes easy and sometimes difficult.


• 23% of patrons claimed choosing books is easy.

• Reasons given why choosing books is difficult or "so-so" are in the following order:


1. "the books I want are never on the shelves."


2. "I don't know what to look for."