READING IN KAZAKHSTAN

The main purpose of the sociology of reading is determining, through t he analysis of reading data, the social processes actually at work in society. This article analyses the results of sociological research do ne by the research staffs of libraries in Kazakhstan between 1991 and 1994. It focuses also on the problems faced by the sociology of readin g in Kazakhstan, where such research was previously considered by the authorities as purposeful only in solving the practical problems of li braries. Today, reading in Kazakhstan is characterized by frequent cha nges in readers' demands caused by the dramatic changes in ideology, p olitics and economics in the constituent parts of the former Soviet Un ion. Reading in Kazakhstan is becoming more utilitarian. Pragmatic inf ormation needs determine the choice of literature. There is a sharp de cline in the demand for fiction compared to the 1980s. Those intellect ual spheres in which ideological control was severest, such as history and philosophy, flourish and effect reading. Finally, the decision of independent Kazakhstan to encourage the use of the Kazakh language is having an effect on reading patterns.