The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-06-22
CIR Ethrarta1ts 0nrnrr
CONDUCTED BY
FRANK PARKER STOCKBRIDGE.
FIND THE READER!

w ticular bookf The complete answer 10 lhis
question would of course solve at once all the prob
lens of the publishers, Of the booksellers, OF the
writer's, and, decidedly, of the librarians In the
completely socialized state, where every individual
is psyche analysed at stated intervals from the
cradle to the grave, card indexed, cross ndeAed
and catalogued and assigned to his or her perma-
nent niche in the cosmic scheme it will be possible
to determine with exactitude just how many ana
which persons will want to read whatever sugary
substitutes for the Wrights and Porters OF to-da"
may then be in vogue, the catalogue numbers anG
post office addresses of those who will be interested
in the Wellses and the Chestertons, the William
Allen Whites and the Joseph Conrads of those
millennial times.
The Coming Exactitude .
How simple it will be- The Secretary of Sociology
will send to the Public Printer at regular intervals
the lists that will enable the last named functonary
to print precisely the number of books by given
author on given topic that will be required. Each
public librarian will be supplied with exactly the
number of copies needed to meet his particular COM
munity's wants. Every author can know in advance
how many Of his books will sell and how big his
royalties will be. The Bureau of Forestry will know
how many Seeding spruce must be set out this year
to supply the pulp that will be needed to make the
paper on which to print the Elsie books that will be
read by the girls of fourteen, who twenty years
from now will prefer them to the Little Colonel
SERIES the necessary calculations being based the
predetermined and controlled rate of increase of the
human species
No waste Efficiency!
Possibly l have not sufficiently grasped the
fundamentals of Socialism to venture rashly upon
such forecasts 1 suspect that the truly efficient
state will not give the consideration to individual
tastes in literature which this roseate picture is
promised. We may be sure, however that things
will be done differently from our crude, individual
istic ways. The best do is to ask people why
they read certain books-and half the time they
cant tell us.
A Librarian Asks Questions.
Harlan H. Ballard has been asking people such
questions and recording their answers. Mr.. Ballard
is librarian of the Berkshire Athenaum at Pitts
field, Massachusetts, So many years ago that to
TESS to the memory of it is q confession almost of
senihty he was secretary of the Agassiz Assoca-
ton, that preston Thompson movement for
nature study fAthered by the st. Nicholas Mdga-
sine In the scientific spirit that actuated that
useful and popular work Mr. Ballard has analysed
the replies given in the Of year to the ques-
tions asked of the patrons Of his library as to the
motives that lmpelled them to read the books they
did read
Five per cent. read books because friends had
recommended them. Get your friends to talk to
their friends about your books.
Three and onehalf per cent. of the books read
drawn from the library because of the reputa-
ton of the author. For the benefit of struggling
authors this insignificant proportion of readers due
to reputation ought to be forcefully impressed upon
every publisher
Three per cent. of the reading was due to inter-
est in the particular subject. Another demonstra-
ton that people read for pleasure much more than
for information.
Printed reviews and advertisements Influenced
five per cent. of the readers in their selections.
Editor Books and the Book World: You are at
liberty to suppress this information after consult
ing your advertising managcr)
The influence of the librarians accounted for half
of one per cent of choices. Then came the big re-
mainder the seventyfour per cent. attributable to
none of these Influences Why did three ma rtarc