In , when the town was incorporated, the designated name Exeter was changed to Franklin in honor of Dr. Benjamin Franklin. The Library Company of Philadelphia , founded in by Benjamin Franklin and a group of his friends, became the first American subscription library.
The Library Company, while founded as a membership library, did allow members to borrow books, and so may have been the first truly public library. It is still in existence as a nonprofit, independent research library. The Biblioteca Palafoxiana Palafoxian Library besides being an important historical and cultural treasure, is also an important repository of learning. The beautifully restored library is extraordinary in that the collection is conserved in its original location along with the original bookshelves….
In he donated books from his private collection to the seminary of the Colegio de San Juan. He made the donation with the stipulation that the books be available to any literate person, and not just academics, thus establishing the first public library of the Americas. An additional tier of shelving was added in the s…. It occupies a long vaulted hall with a splendid altarpiece from the mid 14th century gracing the far end. The altarpiece is covered with gold leaf, and the center is dominated by a painting of the Madonna of Trapani by Sicilian master Nino Pisano.
The school adopted his name and went on to build a fair reputation for itself. At the time, books symbolized wealth: scholars and colleges often measured their affluence based on the size of their book collections. The typical college library was small, usually fewer than 25, donated volumes.
There was no formal support from the administration. Some unlucky faculty member was appointed to supervise the library, in addition to his regular duties. Books were only available to students during limited times — say, a few hours a day or even a week. If there was any logic to how the books were organized, it was something a local person had patched together.
Franklin had a significant private library of his own — he had over 4, books at the time of his death in It was incorporated in as the Library Company of Philadelphia, the first established in the U. You could join the library by buying stock in the company. Books were only available to members. However, he was certainly influential in getting the idea rolling. Once the idea took hold, social libraries became very popular.
Basically, these were book collections shared among specific users. Formats, membership requirements, and structures varied considerably. Some allowed guests to subscribe for a fixed term for a fee. Some were focused on a particular subject, usually something scholarly and important. One variant on the social library was the Athenaeum. The first was founded in Boston in and focused on scholarly magazines and newspapers.
Members were from the richest and highest class of society. The Boston Athenaeum was the first one to employ women, beginning in Mercantile libraries were usually funded by contributions from the benevolent rich, to help educate the masses usually their employees, such as factory workers or mercantile clerks.
They were fueled by the American Dream s style that anyone could succeed if given the right knowledge. Social libraries were a significant achievement, but they were never financially secure.
In prosperous times, the libraries expanded their collections, increased staff, and extended hours. In hard economic times, contributions dried up, and social libraries often were dissolved.
These were often housed in bookstores or print shops, and rented out books. They offered popular materials such as the latest fiction, including that 18th century innovation, gasp! What was probably the first circulating library was opened by William Rind of Annapolis, Maryland, in It only lasted two years, but the idea caught on. School districts were expected to have books available for their students. There was no system, of course; it was all haphazard, and what got donated usually was none too interesting.
Horace Mann, secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, pushed for school libraries in the s, raising a basic question: After we educate our children, what do they have to read?
Educators and eventually legislators looked to the school district library funded through taxes to provide reading for adults as well as children. The three types of libraries social, circulating, and school district all contributed to the evolution of public libraries. The last contender for this title is the Boston Public Library. It was the first free municipal library in a large community and was founded in , almost thirty years before ALA.
The first conference with the intent to form a permanent library organization was held in New York City in Unfortunately the follow-up conference, scheduled for the following year, was never held. These lending libraries are defined as board-governed and tax-funded instead of operated under a subscription model.
Most importantly, they are open to all, do not charge for their services, and focus on serving the needs of the general public. The first totally tax-supported library was established in Peterborough, New Hampshire, in
0コメント