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A subscription library (also membership library or independent library) is a
library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...
that is financed by private funds either from membership fees or endowments. Unlike a
public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...
, access is often restricted to members, but access rights can also be given to non-members, such as students.


Origins

In the 18th century, there were virtually no public libraries in the sense in which we now understand the term i.e. libraries provided from public funds and freely accessible to all.Kelly, Thomas (1966); p. 185 Only one important library in Britain, Chetham's Library in Manchester, was fully and freely accessible to the public. However, during the century, there came into being a whole network of library provision on a private or institutional basis. The increase in secular literature at this time encouraged the establishment of commercial subscription libraries. Many small, private book clubs evolved into subscription libraries, charging high annual fees or requiring subscribing members to purchase shares. Subscription libraries would in turn use these earnings to expand their collections and later create their own publications. Unlike a
public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...
, access was often restricted to members. Some of the earliest such institutions were founded in Britain, such as Chetham's Library in 1653, Innerpeffray Library in 1680 and Thomas Plume's Library in 1704. In the American colonies,
the Library Company of Philadelphia The Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP) is a non-profit organization based on Locust Street in Center City Philadelphia. Founded as a library in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, the Library Company of Philadelphia has accumulated one of the most ...
was started in 1731 by
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. By paying an initial fee and annual dues, members had access to books, maps, fossils, antique coins, minerals, and scientific instruments. This library began with 50 members, swelled to 100 quickly, and then grew prosperous enough to begin to publish its own books. When the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, they did so in the same building as Franklin's Library Company and delegates were given member privileges for the library. Franklin's subscription library became so popular that many subscription libraries were founded in the colonies, making him remark that it was, "the mother of all the North American subscription libraries, now so numerous". The first dozen subscription libraries were established in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and Maine by the 1750s. The first subscription library in Canada, The Quebec Library/Bibliotheque de Quebec, opened in 1783. The materials available to subscribers tended to focus on particular subject areas, such as
biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...
,
history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
,
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
and
travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical Location (geography), locations. Travel can be done by Pedestrian, foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without Baggage, luggage, a ...
, rather than works of fiction, particularly the novel. Subscription libraries were democratic in nature; created by and for communities of local subscribers who aimed to establish permanent collections of books and reading materials, rather than selling their collections annually as the circulating libraries tended to do, in order to raise funds to support their other commercial interests. Even though the subscription libraries were often founded by reading societies, committees, elected by the subscribers, chose books for the collection that were general, rather than aimed at a particular religious, political or professional group. The books selected for the collection were chosen because they would be mutually beneficial to the shareholders. The committee also selected the librarians who would manage the circulation of materials. Subscription libraries were also referred to as 'proprietary' libraries due to the expectation that subscribers not only pay an annual fee, but that they must also invest in shares. These shares could be transferred by sale, gift or
bequest A devise is the act of giving real property by will, traditionally referring to real property. A bequest is the act of giving property by will, usually referring to personal property. Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to thei ...
. Many could not afford to purchase shares to become a member, even though they may have belonged to reading clubs.


Circulating libraries

The increasing production and demand for fiction promoted by rising literacy rates and the expansion of commercial markets, led to the rise of circulating libraries, which met a need that subscription libraries did not fulfill. William Bathoe opened his commercial venture at two locations in London in 1737, and claimed to have been 'the Original Circulating library'. An early circulating library may even have been established in the mid-17th century; in an edition of "Tom Tyler and his Wife" in 1661
Francis Kirkman Francis Kirkman (1632 – c. 1680) appears in many roles in the English literary world of the second half of the seventeenth century, as a publisher, bookseller, librarian, author and bibliographer. In each he is an enthusiast for popular liter ...
included a catalogue of 690 plays which he claimed to be ready to lend "upon reasonable considerations" from his premises in
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
. Circulating libraries charged subscription fees to users and offered serious subject matter as well as the popular novels, thus the difficulty in clearly distinguishing circulating from subscription libraries. Occasionally subscription libraries called themselves 'circulating libraries', and vice versa.
Many ordinary circulating libraries might call themselves 'subscription' libraries because they charged a subscription, while the earliest private subscription libraries, such as
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
,
Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
, or Liverpool, describe themselves as 'circulating' libraries in their titles. Since many circulating libraries called themselves after the town where they were situated, it is often difficult to distinguish the type of a particular library, especially since many are only known to posterity from a surviving book label, with nothing but the name as identification.Manley, K.A. "Booksellers, peruke-makers, and rabbit-merchants: the growth of circulating libraries in the eighteenth century." Libraries and the Book Trade: The formation of collections from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. Ed. Myers. New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Press, 2000, p. 39.
In Britain there were more than 200 commercial circulating libraries open in 1800, more than twice the number of subscription and private proprietary libraries that were operating at the same time. Many proprietors pandered to the most fashionable clientele, making much ado about the sort of shop they offered, the lush interiors, plenty of room and long hours of service. "These 'libraries' would be called rental collections today." With the advent of free public libraries in the 19th century, most subscription libraries were replaced or taken over by the governing authorities.


Learned societies

In London, numerous scientific dabblers, amateurs, professionals concentrated in the comparatively small geographic area began to form a unique development – the
learned society A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...
:
These societies are voluntary associations of men and women who have come together because they are interested in the aims and objects which the societies serve and they feel that they can pursue those interests better as members of a society, rather than as individuals. The libraries therefore have been collected together for the purpose of serving the objects to which the various societies are dedicated and they do this, for the most part, by serving their members.
Learned society libraries were private but were owned by larger groups of people. Materials were often lent or borrowed by qualified individuals or institutions outside the society. Societies were concerned mainly with the sciences, physical and biological, and often cooperated with other groups like the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
. Exclusive subscription libraries, the world's oldest being the
Chemical Society The Chemical Society was a scientific society formed in 1841 (then named the Chemical Society of London) by 77 scientists as a result of increased interest in scientific matters. Chemist Robert Warington was the driving force behind its creation. ...
in London, was founded in 1841 for the general advancement of
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
. Its primary objective was to guide and direct original research in chemistry and to disseminate that knowledge through
debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...
s, lectures and its own ''
journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...
''.


Current membership libraries


Australia

* 1833:
Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts The Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts (SMSA) is the longest running School of Arts (also known as a " Mechanics' Institute") and the oldest continuous lending library in Australia. Founded in 1833, the school counted many of the colony's educat ...
* 1839: Melbourne Athenaeum * 1854: PMI Victorian History Library


Canada

* 1824: Literary and Historical Society of Quebec * 1828: Atwater Library of the Mechanics' Institute of Montreal * 1876:
Library of Parliament The Library of Parliament () is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. The library survived th ...


Ireland

* 1922: Central Catholic Library


France

* 1920: American Library in Paris


Thailand

* 1921: Neilson Hays Library - originally (1869) the Bangkok Ladies' Library Association


United Kingdom

* 1653: Chetham's Library – oldest free public reference library in the English-speaking world (not a subscription library) * 1680: Innerpeffray Library – first public lending library in Scotland (not a subscription library) * 1704: Thomas Plume's Library in Essex (not a subscription library) * 1741: The Leadhills Miners' Library in Scotland – oldest subscription library in the British Isles * 1768:
Leeds Library The Leeds Library is the oldest surviving subscription library of its type in the UK. It was founded in 1768, following an advertisement placed in the ''Leeds Intelligencer'' earlier that year. The first secretary was Joseph Priestley. In 177 ...
– oldest active subscription library in the UK * 1788: Linen Hall Library – last subscribing library in Northern Ireland * 1793: The Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne * 1793: Westerkirk Parish Library * 1797: The Athenaeum (Liverpool) * 1799: Tavistock Subscription Library * 1800: Langholm Library * 1806:
Portico Library The Portico Library, The Portico or Portico Library and Gallery on Mosley Street in Manchester, England, is an independent subscription library designed in the Greek Revival style by Thomas Harrison of Chester and built between 1802 and 1806. ...
* 1810: Plymouth Proprietary Library * 1812: Plymouth Athenaeum Library * 1813: Devon and Exeter Institution * 1816: Nottingham Subscription Library * 1818: Morrab Library * 1824: Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution * 1824: Ipswich Institute Reading Room and Library * 1832: Bradford Mechanics' Institute Library * 1832: Saffron Walden Town Library Society (now called the Gibson Library) * 1834: Guildford Institute of the University of Surrey * 1839: Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution * 1841: London Library * 1854: Birmingham and Midland Institute * 1889: Saint Deiniol's Residential Library (now known as
Gladstone's Library Gladstone's Library, known until 2010 as St Deiniol's Library (), is a residential library in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales, UK. Gladstone's Library is Britain's only Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Ministerial Library and serves a ...
) * 1894: Bishopsgate Institute * 1912: Armitt Library * 1928: Sybil Campbell Library


United States

* 1731:
Library Company of Philadelphia The Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP) is a non-profit organization based on Locust Street in Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia. Founded as a library in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, the Library Company of Philadelphia has a ...
* 1747: Redwood Library and Athenaeum * 1748: Charleston Library Society * 1753: Providence Athenaeum * 1754:
New York Society Library The New York Society Library (NYSL) is the oldest cultural institution in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the New York Society as a subscription library. During the time when New York was the capital of the United States, it was the de ...
* 1760: Newtown Library Company * 1795: Lexington (Kentucky) Library Society * 1804: Social Law Library * 1807:
Boston Athenæum The Boston Athenaeum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It is also one of a number of membership libraries, for which patrons pay a yearly subscription fee to use Athenaeum services. The institution was founded in ...
* 1810: Salem Athenaeum * 1814: Athenaeum of Philadelphia * 1816: New Orleans Library Society * 1817: Portsmouth Athenaeum * 1820: General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York * 1820: Maine Charitable Mechanic Association Library of Portland * 1820: New York Mercantile Library * 1826: The Institute Library (New Haven) * 1835: Mercantile Library of Cincinnati * 1846: St. Louis Mercantile Library Association * 1853: Congregational Library & Archives * 1854: San Francisco Mechanics' Institute * 1890: Lanier Library Association (Lanier Library of North Carolina) * 1897: Timrod Library * 1899: Athenaeum Music & Arts Library of La Jolla * 1900: Milford Mystery Library of Milford, Ohio * 1902: The Tabard Inn Library stations managed by The Book Lover's Library * 1947: Mendocino Community Library * 1999: John Trigg Ester Library * 2015: Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum


References


Further reading

* Coleman, Sterling Joseph. ''How Books Reading and Subscription Libraries Defined Colonial Clubland in the British Empire.'' 2020. New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. * *Wendorf, Richard. 2007. ''America’s Membership Libraries.'' 1st ed. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press.


External links


"Where Greek Ideals Meet New England Charm"
- article about subscription libraries in
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
, from ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', March 7, 2008 * The Library of Congress preserves a part of the lending stock of an early 20th-century commercial lending library in it
Tabard Inn Collection"The fall and rise of subscription libraries"
{{Authority control Types of library