BUY, BORROW OR BEG? AN INVESTIGATION INTO HOW FICTION READERS GET THEIR

This report aims to discover where fiction readers are obtaining their fiction from at a time when library issues are falling. Libraries have undergone financial hardships in recent years so it was decided to look at whether people's borrowing and buying habits have changed because of this. As well as this it examines the differences between library and bookshop users and tries to discover why people do as they do with regard to their buying and borrowing habits. In order to find this out, 100 semi-structured questionnaires were distributed, 50 outside bookshops and 50 outside libraries. Semi-structured interviews with Librarians, Bookshop managers and other relevant stakeholders were also carried out. It was discovered that most people buy and borrow the books they read with a smaller percentage of people who either only borrow or only buy. Bookshop users were more likely to buy all the books they read and were lighter readers than library users who mainly buy and borrow. There were some people however, who were heavy readers and book buyers who never use libraries. It was found that age, occupation and gender affect buying and borrowing habits. Working people find it difficult to get to libraries and people tend to use libraries more as they get older. More time was a popular reason for an increase in borrowing. At present, libraries do not seem to be under threat from bookshops. Most people borrow and buy and many people chose libraries as their first choice for obtaining fiction. Librarians and bookshop managers were interviewed to see if the organisations see themselves as in competition with each other. On the whole it seemed as though they did not and many people surveyed noted the dual nature of libraries and bookshops, using them to try out books and authors new to them. Various forms of bookshops were examined and their advantages and disadvantages analysed. The types of books people read was investigated in order to find out whether peoples preferences effected where people get their reading material from. It seems that people want a balanced service containing both literary and popular fiction. Literary fiction is being bought in smaller quantities in Sheffield at the moment and some people commented on this. It seemed that people used bookshops for literary fiction and libraries for more popular works. Promotion in libraries was examined and while it was noted that this areas seemed to be improving many of the people surveyed still had rather negative impressions of the library service. Finally, various aspects of finance were considered. It was concluded that the financial cuts faced by Sheffield libraries have had an effect on borrower habits. It was also concluded that it is possible that libraries with high bookspend maintain high issues. This study finally concludes that at present, most people buy and borrow but that this may change in the future if libraries continue to suffer financial problems. It would seem that the factors affecting borrowing are mostly to do with age or occupation but that it is possible that these things would not affect use so much if libraries were more accessible.