What do we know about public library use?

Data from Westminster Libraries on membership, bon-owing frequency and stoc k use is compared with significant studies of public library use from the l ast 50 years. The article examines the extent of public library use, and th e social and demographic factors influencing use. Analysis of book and audi o-visual stock use indicates the concentration of demand on a few titles an d subjects, and the relationship to what is in demand commercially. Aspects of public library use have remained constant over at least the last 50 yea rs, and across geographical boundaries. Public libraries are used principal ly for leisure, for borrowing recent fiction, for useful non fiction relate d to immediate life interests, and for pop music. Quantitative data from li brary systems provides a different, probably more accurate, picture of the nature and extent of public library use.