Popular Serials Selection Bias and Central Midwestern Metropolitan Libraries
Scott Childers & Charity Martin *
Abstract - This study is a preliminary attempt to determine if there is a bias based on age or gender in the magazines available on public libraries' shelves and magazine racks. The study specifically examined the periodical collections found in selected metropolitan libraries of the central Midwestern United States.Introduction
In this age of electronic publications, Web sites and 24-hour cable news, it may seem that the day of the popular magazine is over and any examination of the paper-based serial is a worthless exercise. This actually is far from true. Magazines are still a way of preserving and spreading the culture of the moment to the masses. They are easy to pass on, to read, and in most cases, to store. A recent survey showed that one third of readers read 1-2 magazines regularly and a little under a third read 3-4 regularly. [1] Popular magazines are still a viable, and for many the main, resource for communicating to a community based around an interest or lifestyle.
Why should public libraries be concerned about non-biased coverage in their magazine offerings? The Library Bill of Rights clearly states, “Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves.”[2]
This study was inspired by a conversation between the authors in which the question was asked, “Which magazine is a public library more likely to own – Pro-Wrestling Illustrated or Soap Opera Digest?” Both magazines deal with a form of entertainment that can be considered a type of modern ‘morality play.' However, soap operas appeal more to women and professional wrestling more to men. This conversation, coupled with vague recollections of discussions in library school concerning the reading habits of the genders and various age groups, lead to the current study.
In this study, various magazine titles were specified and placed into groups based on gender (male/female) and age (young adult/mature). The main library and branches of selected midwestern metropolitan libraries were examined to determine whether or not these specific titles were held in the periodicals collection. This is a report of the study's methodology, findings and recommendations.
Review of LiteratureThere was only one study found that with a similar focus and methodology. In 1995, Dave Harmeyer conducted a study to see if bias existed in the collection development practices of California libraries that favored either a pro-life or pro-choice stance on the abortion issue. [3] In his experiment, Harmeyer developed a list of representative works, ranked them, and checked the libraries holdings through OCLC to see if the libraries did or did not include them. The libraries were then given a score that reflected the possible level of bias in their selections on that topic.
In response to Harmeyer's study, Pankake, Wittenborg and Carpenter pointed out that there are other reasons for selecting, or in some cases not selecting, titles for a libraries collection.[4] Scarcity of available funds or lack of knowledge concerning the subject material could be used to explain the absence of certain, individual texts. There is also the possibly choosing alternate texts that present the same point of view as those on the testing list.
Beyond the aforementioned study, no other literature of relevance was found.
MethodologyPurpose of study
As mentioned previously, the focus for this exploratory study is to determine whether or not selection of popular serials (magazines) in central Midwest metropolitan library systems shows bias toward any particular age or gender target audience.
The researchers did not expect that all branches of a library system, or even an entire library system, would carry all titles of possible interest to a certain group. Even some large academic libraries carry only half of the significant, relevant journal literature available to them.[5] The researchers approached the study with the expectation that a reader would come into a library building without a preconceived title in mind and could find a magazine that might cater to their stereotypical age and/or gender's interests. In other words, the researchers believed the average reader would browse the periodical section until they found a magazine of interest to them.
Design of the InstrumentTo determine whether there was bias in selection, the researchers created a list of popular magazine titles they believed most likely to be found in most public libraries and placed them in categories according to the title's perceived audience group (young adult male, young adult female, mature male, mature female). The split point between age groups was determined to be approximately 35 years old. This is a time in which a person's personality and interests change.[6] The researchers labeled the ‘young adult' males and females as ages 15 to 35 and ‘mature' males and females as ages 35 and up.
The magazine titles were chosen after visits to several local library branches and to a local bookstore. Some titles cover activities and interests that are geared to younger adults or strive to have an edgier, hip, or modern approach to their articles and presentation that targets to younger readers – the ‘young adult' readers. Other titles have a more traditional feel to their fare that target to an older, more mature audience – the ‘mature' readers.
The researchers realize that these are generalizations and many members of one age group could read any magazine we placed in the opposite group. However, it was the perceived target audience (as indicated in The Standard Periodical Directory, 27 th edition, 2004 )[7] of the magazines selected that determined which group the title belonged to. Although the researchers chose not to look at titles geared for children, they did take into account teenage and young adult readers.
The titles were further split into one of two gender target audiences. Titles that either explicitly stated it's interest to one gender (e.g. Men's Health ) or that dealt with subjects that stereotypically appeal to one gender ( Road & Track ) were placed in a gender group. Again, the researchers acknowledge that members of one gender may choose read titles listed in the opposite group, but it was the target audience of the title that defined the categories. In total, there were four categories created: mature female, mature male, young adult female, and young adult male.
To assist with data gathering we created a checklist using all the titles we had identified for the categories of titles (See Appendix 1). The titles were listed in alphabetical order, as opposed to gender and/or age groupings, in order to facilitate the gathering of the needed data.
Data Gathering SitesSix public library systems in the central Midwest region of the United States were chosen to be the sample in this study. The criteria to determine the library systems chosen were based on the population served figures found in the American Library Directory.[8] The library system must serve a population of no less than 100,000 and no larger than 500,000. Due to the cost and time needed for travel, the targeted locations were in Nebraska , Iowa , and Kansas . Overall, six library systems were chosen and were comprised of 37 individual library locations, including that of the main library in each system.
ProcessThe researchers felt that browsing a library's magazine section would make a great difference in this study by helping to capture the perspective of a patron walking into the building with the goal of "finding something to read", instead of "I want to read title X"; a browsing perspective instead of a searching perspective. This approach also allowed the authors the opportunity to discover other titles that could help inform the study.
With a preliminary instrument in hand, the researchers conducted visits at two of the chosen library systems. During these visits, each title found at the main library and branch locations was marked on the preliminary instrument as available at that particular library. No assistance from library staff was requested, except for the general location of the periodicals section if it was not readily apparent. While examining the periodical sections, titles that were not on the list, but could be a better reflection of a particular category, were noted. After visits to the two library systems, the researchers examined the data gathered, looking specifically at titles not found at any other location and at the titles noted. After scrutinizing the titles not on the original list and those titles on the original list not found in the two library systems, the list was revised to better reflect the two young adult sites. With this adapted instrument, the remaining four library systems were examined.
Data Analysis
Due to the small sample size of only six library systems, the data was examined based on the individual branches' holdings to create a clearer statistical picture.
Table 1 shows the titles ranked by their prominence in the branches. Sports Illustrated was the most prominent, being found in 34 of the 37, or 92%, of the branches and Dragon was the least prominent only being found in 2 of the 37, or 5%, of the branches visited. This gives a rough estimate of which titles are “universals” or titles found in almost all of the branches.
Table 2 shows the titles that were categorized as being in one of the two age-based categories. As indicated in the proceeding section, certain titles were designated as appealing more to a mature audience (ages 35 and up) while others were considered to be of interest to a younger reader (ages 15-34). The overall percentages suggest that a person looking for a specific mature tile would have a 57% chance of finding that title while the younger adults would have a much lower chance of finding a specific title with only a 38% overall chance. Both categories had selections that appeared in the majority of branches visited, but the mature list had almost a third of its list available at 75% and two thirds were at half of the branches visited, while the young adult list only had 1 title over 75% and only 5 titles at half the branches visited. This discrepancy suggests that there is either a bias in selection against the younger readers or a lack of titles geared toward the age group.
Table 3 is another split table, this time split across gender targeted titles. The overall percentages suggest that a person looking for a specific title targeted towards females would have a 57% overall chance of finding that title, while the male-targeted titles would have a 41% overall chance of being found. Again, both categories had some titles that appeared in the majority of branches visited, but the female-targeted titles had 20% of its list available at 75% of the branches and had 64% available at over half the libraries. The male-targeted magazines only had 7% of its list at 75% of the branches and only 35% available at half the libraries. These rather large differences suggest that again there is a bias in selection in favor of titles geared towards females.
Table 4 shows the four categories: young adult male, mature male, young adult female, and mature female. The mature females would have the easiest time finding a specific title geared toward them at 63%, while the young males would have the hardest with only a 31% chance. If one looks only at those titles found at 50 to 75% of the libraries, a pattern does emerge showing a slight bias. The mature females have almost half of their list available at 75% of the branches and have almost 73% of their list available at half of the locations. The young females have one title available at 75% of the libraries, and about half of their list is available at half the branches. The mature men have no titles available at 75% of the branches, but have over half their list available at half the libraries. The young male interest group has only one title available at half the branches and none available at 75%. These numbers confirm the trend that the younger audience doesn't have titles on the shelves, and that the younger males are the least-represented group in the public libraries.
ConclusionsAgain, it should be noted that the data gathered, although intriguing, should not be considered as anything more than suggestive. Due to the small sample size of 37 libraries spread over 6 metropolitan areas, as well as the limitations imposed by looking only at specific titles and not the periodical collections as a whole, the resulting data should be regarded cautiously.
With that disclaimer, it does appear that for those titles considered, there is a discrepancy based more on age than on gender. For more mature library patrons, gender does not seem to greatly affect the likelihood of locating one of the titles designated for their group. However, for young adult males, it does. Whether or not this is due to the lack of titles that target young males, or a conscious decision based on lower circulation figures for that group, or an actual bias is not clear. It also could be the negative image that certain publications that target this group may have. For example, Dragon has been accused of promoting a lifestyle that fosters suicide, murder, and a general lack of accepting reality. [9]
Young women also have a lower likelihood of finding titles that target them. As with young males, this could be due to lack of interest in the library by young people. It is probably not due to publishers not providing magazine titles for young women, as there seem to be a plethora of titles for this group, specifically for teenage girls, with titles such as Seventeen .
Recommendations for Further Research
This study suggests that a bias with regards to excluding the reading interest of young adult males may exist in the periodical collections of some public libraries. Further research is needed to verify this tentative conclusion. A larger data set, either in number of titles compared or in number of branches examined, would assist in creating a more accurate representation of actual selection practices.
Another variable to include would be to compare a library's or library system's periodical collection to their own user study or studies, if they have done them. It may be that when compared to the age and gender make-up of the patrons, the periodical collection accurately reflects the use patterns of the community the library or library system serves.
Increasing the granularity in age groups could also provide information that would point to areas that might be lacking in coverage. By using five or six groups such as children, young adult, collegiate, mature and senior, or other such groups, you could better point to areas that are lacking in regards to taking care of the needs of a certain age group.
The best improvement, in the researchers' opinion, would be a combination of both suggestions. A five or six age group split would be beneficial, as well as examining the entire serial holdings of the branches instead of using a predetermined list of titles. By examining the entire holdings available, you allow for local decisions on which titles to represent whatever group or interest to be accounted for.
Tables
Table 1: Title Prominence
Table 2: Titles split by Age
Table 3: Titles split by Gender
Table 4: Titles split by Age and Gender
References Cited:
[1] “Indicator 15 (2001) Adult Literacy Habits and Media Use.” The Condition of Education 2001 . (2001). Available: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2001/pdf/15_2001.pdf [ May 4, 2004].
[2]American Library Association. “Library Bill of Rights.” (2003). Available: http://www.ala.org/work/freedom/lbr.html [May 4, 2004].
[3] Dave Harmeyer, “ Potential Collection Development Bias: Some Evidence on a Controversial Topic In California ” College & Research Libraries , 56 , 2 (March 1995): 101-111
[4] Marcia Pankake, Karen Wittenborg and Eric Carpenter, “Commentaries on Collection Bias,” College & Research Libraries , 56, 2 (March 1995): 113-118.
[5] David Kohl, “ To Select or Not Select: Taking Off the Blinders in Collection Development ,” Collection Management , 26, 2 (2001): 1-12.
[6] Sanjay Srivastava, John P. Oliver, Samuel D. Gosling, and Jeff Potter, “ Development of Personality in Early and Middle Adulthood: Set Like Plaster or Persistent Change? ” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 84, 5 (May 2003): 1041-1053
[7] The Standard Periodicals Directory, 26 th ed., 2003 ( New York : Oxford Pub. Co. , 2003).
[8] American Library Association, American Library Directory 56 th ed., 2004 ( New York : R.R. Bowker Co., 2003).
[9] Carolyn Caywood, “ Rescuing the Innocent: The Lure of Dungeons and Dragons,” School Library Journal, 37, 3 (March 1991): 138.
Scott Childers, (M.L.S), is Assistant Systems Librarian and an Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 31A Love Library, Lincoln, NE 68588-4100 (E-mail: schilders1@unl.edu)
Charity K. Martin, M.A., M.S. (Library Science), is an Associate Professor of Technical Services and History Liaison at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 322 Love Library, Lincoln, NE 68588-4100 (E-mail: cmartin3@unl.edu ).
The authors wish to extend our gratitude towards the Nebraska Library Association's College & University section who provided grant funding for this research.
