閱讀是人類古老的活動之一，但是，對閱讀的社會學研究則是30年代才興起。圖書館主要的功能在提供資訊給使用者，因此，圖書館對使用者的閱讀行為更不可不了解。因此，本文首先探討閱讀的性質與價值、閱讀的動機與種類、系列出版品及羅曼史引起的爭議，最後並分析圖書館應不應該蒐藏系列出版品和羅曼史之看法，以幫助圖書館因應使用者的閱讀需求。

　　　　　Reading is one of the oldest activities of mankind but research on reading from a sociological perspective does not appear until the 1930s. Since the primary function of the library is to provide information for its readers, to understand their reading behavior becomes the key issue in deciding the proper acquisition of books. The purpose of this article is to analyze the characters, value, motivation and categories of reading. It also discusses the controversy between series books and romances as well as the suitability of holding these books in the libraries.