ERIC Number: ED278415
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1986
Pages: 19
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Effect of Face-Front Display on the Circulation of Books in a Public Library.
Long, Sarah P.
This study considers the theories of impulse buying in an examination of the effects on circulation of library books when books are displayed face front (with all or most of the book jacket showing) as opposed to spine front. Reviews of the literature on consumer behavior and on library displays support the hypothesis of this study, i.e., that libraries can benefit from the techniques used in retail marketing to boost the circulation of all types of books. Conducted at the Parkwood Branch of the Durham Public Library in North Carolina, the 2-month-long research project used the four-cell pretest-posttest pattern to examine circulation as related to face-front or spine-front display of 300 books located in the Adult Current Fiction section. A comparison of circulation of the control group (displayed spine-front) and the experimental group (displayed face-front) using analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant difference in both average number of circulations and weekly circulation figures between the two groups during the posttest period, implying that the experimental variable of face-front display was associated with the circulation increase. It is concluded that information consumers are influenced by the same marketing techniques as retail consumers. (KM)
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Masters Theses
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A