Determining factors of use of public libraries

In this paper, the author tries to clarify some determining factors of use of public libraries in Japan, using some multivariate analysis such as multi-regression analysis. Drawing various data on community profile from all cities in the metropolitan area in Japan and twenty-three wards of Tokyo, multi-regression analysis are executed in order to examine a relation between per capita library circulation and some variables which show its community profile. As a result, the regression model that involves ten dependent variables can account for about 81% of the variance in per capita circuration, and per capita collection, proportion of professional occupation, sales of newspaper, per capita books purchased, force of growth in community, and so on, are identified as influential variables. In addition, after all these dependent variables are submitted to factor analysis, the five implicit factors which are intellectual level, urbanization, degree to prosperty, activity of libraries and degree to growth are extracted, especially clarifing that interectual level and activity of libraries have an important effect upon the variance of per capita library circulation.