Popular Reading Collections in PublicUniversity Libraries: A Survey ofThree Southeastern States

摘要

Offering a separate, popular reading collection can be a valuablepublic service in academic libraries. Popular reading is alsoknown as leisure reading, recreational reading, and reading forpleasure. These phrases are synonyms for an interest in readingbestsellers, mysteries, romance novels, biographies, graphic novels,humor, self-help, or popular nonfiction, among other literaturecategories. This article examines the survey data of popularreading collections in the public universities of three southeasternstates. It also discusses the popular reading collection at theauthor's library, also located at a southeastern public university,and analyzes the data from both circulation records and a surveyof more than 100 patrons who used the collection during the fall2008 semester.