In a letter published in Library Journal in 1908 U.K. librarian James Duff Brown was puzzled by comparisons of British and American public library statistics. He noticed that the number of registered borrowers per capita among prominent U.S. libraries seemed inordinately high when compared with British libraries. 1907 statistics for East Orange, NJ indicated that 50% of its residents were registered patrons, an extreme percentage that Brown observed would be impossible in the U.K. because “70 per cent [of U.K. residents] are too old, too young, too illiterate, too high-class, or in jails and workhouses, safe from the temptations of public libraries.” (Library Journal, Vol 33, No 10, Oct. 1908, p. 395.)
In a Library Journal issue later that year American librarian Frances Rathbone clarified the East Orange, NJ registration figures and suggested a modified statistic that might help in comparisons with U.K. data. [Read more...]
