The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-20
From the Worlds Work.

HAVE been carrying on an lnVeStlga-
 tion in a community which conn
 prises a small village in an eastern state. and a considerable part of the surrounding country, which is devoted to agriculture and grazing to ascertain what periodical literature circulates among the people. Altogether, there are S49 families, largely of American stock. The district can boast four churches, with three resident ministers. and five schools, with seven teachers. The educational standing of the community Is above the average.
 There Is a library containing more than 5000 volumes of well-selected books. This is supported by small endowment and by private subscriptions. It's circulation Is confined almost exclusively to fiction and to magazines. Its more serious books, Of which it 1nas an excellent stock. though there are hardly any of recent date, are very rarely called for. During the year there were taken out of the library 10O1 volumes by 96 patrons. Of 1901 volumes, more than 300 were fiction an average of over nine to each patron.
 The investigation was limited to period ioal literature, because the circulation of books, while more difficult to obtain, is less regular; and periodical literature,
 in our country districts, Is surer guide to what the people are reading.
 Seventy-nine different periodicals, in- cludlng daily, semi-weekly and weekly newspapers. and excluding purely profess sonal publications, are taken by these a.o .7t. ed into eight separate classes: (a) News papers, including daily semi-weekly, tri- weekly and weekly. (b) Religious papers. Co Temperance. (d) Agriculture. (e) Mag aznes. () Magazines devoted mainly to the interests of woman and the home. (g) Humorous. ch) Advertising mixed with fiction.
 The newspapers come first, as foi- lows:
 Morning papers .....s............. o5 Evening papers .................... "A Tri-Weekly papers ................ Semi-weekly papers ................ S2 Weekly papers ..................... 80 The "weeklies'' are of the usual coun- try sort-budgets of local gossip, with "Talmage sermon" few political and general news clippings and a chapter or two of patent" yellow novel thrown in Outside of these 'weeklies'' are a few which I may class with newspapers They are:
 Harper's Weekly. The Nation.
 The Independent (New York.)
 The Weeks Progress. Only seven copies of these four publi- cations are taken. There Is one other weekly newspaper, a cross between the Police News and a regular newspaper resulting in a product that contains too many good qualities for 1t 10 be con- demned and too many bad qualities for 1t to be commended. It has circulation of 43 copies, making a total of S65 copies of newspapers. However poor from literary and schol- arly point of view, religious newspapers are very thoroughly read, and must have considerable influence with the people. The religious papers that find their way | Into the community are these, given in the order of the size of their circula- | tion:
 Worldwide Missions. | The Christian Herald. The Epworth Herald. Sabbath Reading. l The Christian Endeavor World. | The New York Witness. The Christian Advocate. | The Christian Register. The Examiner. The Rams Horn. l The ten have a total circulation of 127 copies.
 Temperance is represented by only | two periodicals. with a total circulation
 mostly of gratuitous distribution-of not more than seven copies.