Young people read : reading and library habits in ninth grade and upper secondary school

This thesis investigates young people´s (16-21) preferences in reading through a survey including interviews and questionnaires. The groups attitudes towards reading and libraries, their reading and library habits, and to what extent eight libraries had bought the preferred literature were also examined. Some reports from the 80´s were used to find the changes. The result shows that youngsters read and visit libraries somewhat more frequently. Trivial literature is not as dominant, more teenage-books were read. Popular thems are love, history, reality, fantasy/sf, and detective stories. The books should be exciting or emotional. The way they were told was important - something earlier studies did not show. Reading was mainly connected with relaxation and the content was essential. The libraries were important intermediaries and the majority was happy with the collection. 21% of the most popular titles were missing, and only an average of 1,5-5 books were available of most titles