Popular reading collections in Academic Libraries: Are they worth it?

Academic libraries, though situated within universities, are not purely for academic purposes and have made efforts to provide services that support the overall university life of students. These efforts include providing recreational reading materials to patrons.This paper is a case study of one particular leased recreational reading collection at a southeastern university that looks at how these collections are utilized by patrons and perceived by librarians. Circulation statistics for the collection were analyzed and interviews with librarians involved with the collection development and maintenance of the materials were conducted to consider how these collections fit within academia. Additionally, this paper includes a survey of 12 universities with similar collections to determine if the results from one university are broadly applicable to others. Research determined that popular reading collections have a demonstrated use for various patron groups and are valuable to both patrons and librarians.Master of Science in Library Scienc