Discusses responses to surveys about reasons for reading and notes that, when asked for reasons why they read, most people say they read for knowledge or pleasure, but when answers are explored in depth people show considerable variation in their purposes for reading. (MKM)

Presents a fictitious dialogue in which a teacher of a college methods course in reading points out to her students that (1) people read for different purposes, (2) reading needs vary from community to community, and (3) teachers should investigate the reading needs of people in their communities. (GT)