How Reader's Select Fiction

by Lyn Sear and Barbara Jennings, Research & Development Report, No. 9, 1986.

Survey Questions:

• Can you describe how you came to choose this book?
• Looking at each (returned) book separately, would you say you enjoyed them, didn't enjoy them, or just felt they were so-so?
  

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:

Question: Can you describe how you came to choose this book?

• The most common method of selecting a book, 34%, was because the book looked interesting.

Question: Looking at each (returned) book separately, would you say you enjoyed them, didn't enjoy them, or just felt they were so-so?

• The most common way of selecting books, i.e., "looked interesting," produced the lowest enjoyment.


• Ranking methods of selection based on the amount of enjoyment.


1. Selected specific title.


2. Recognized author's name while browsing.


3. Looked for this specific genre.


4. Book looked interesting.