Content area
Abstract
This study addresses the problem of reading among older adults and the relation of such reading to their sense of life satisfaction. The study also considers the relation between reading interests and activity of older adults and the availability to them of library materials and services.
Data concerning these relationships were collected in two surveys conducted in three central counties (Dallas County, Denton County, and Tarrant County) of the Dallas-Fort Worth Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. In order to determine the reading interests and activity of older adults, the first survey was conducted by telephone interviews with a sample of 304 adults sixty-five years of age and older and, for comparison purposes, with a sample of 200 adults twenty-five to sixty-four years of age. To collect data on library materials and services provided for older adults, the second survey was conducted by mailing a questionnaire to all public libraries in the same three counties.
The findings of this study indicate that the reading interests and activity of older adults do differ from younger adults, that the amount of time spent in reading by older adults is related to education, annual family income, ethnicity, and sex of the reader, that the principal reasons given by older adults for not reading are failing vision and poor health, and that the principal types of materials read by older adults are newspapers and religious materials. The findings also indicate that positive life satisfaction scores of older adults are related to education, type of occupation, annual family income, amount of time spent in reading, and variety in reading interests and that reading interests and activity of older adults are related to the availability of library materials and services.
The study concludes with implications for public librarians and with recommendations for further research.
