A study analyzed the relationship between reading in various community structures and where people shop for goods and services, and whether this relationship differs by the type of community in which individuals reside. Telephone interviews were conducted with samples of 100 or more subjects in each of 10 Minnesota communities, including a small town, a regional center, two large metropolitan cities, and six suburbs. Subjects were asked to respond to questions regarding education, occupation, age, and length of residence in the community, as well as questions about reading of newspapers and shopping habits. Results, indicating differences among communities in the extent to which people say they obtain services locally, lead to three generalizations: (1) there is a concentration of services in growing regional cities; (2) the suburbs are largely residential in nature, with citizens going to a wide range of communities for shopping and professional services; and (3) people in small towns buy groceries locally but do their nonfood shopping elsewhere. Newspaper reading appears to be more strongly tied to choice of place for services in an outlying rural community than in regional or metropolitan communities. (DF)