Subject: Public libraries - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 11.0 linear feet
Abstract:: The Darby Free Library is one of the oldest public libraries in the United States, and the first cultural institution in Darby, now part of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1743 as a subscription library, it became free to the public in 1898 and part of the Delaware County Library System in 1981. The Darby Free Library is still operational as of 2014. The Darby Library Company records, 1743-2012, include Board of Directors and stockholders' minute books, book acquisition and circulation records, financial records, other administrative papers, and various other materials from the Darby Free Library and the Darby Library Company, as well as other organizations that merged with the Darby Library Company, including the Delaware County Society for the Detection of Horse Thieves and the Recovery of Stolen Horses, and the Darby Home Protection Society.

Held at: Darby Free Library [Contact Us]

Extent:: 4.0 linear feet
Abstract:: Currently serving as the Doylestown branch of the Bucks County (Pa.) Free Library, the Melinda Cox Library was Doylestown's first free library. It opened in 1917 through a bequest of Doylestown resident Charles Cox (1832-1914) who left his entire estate to create a community library named after his mother, Melinda Hines Cox (1803-1890). The library merged with the county library in 1981. The Melinda Cox Library records, 1819-1993 (bulk 1915-1993), consist primarily of various library records, including circulation and registration ledgers, financial records, statistics, correspondence, and clippings, as well as some correspondence and other records of the Friends of the Library (established in 1944). There are also papers, photographs, and research materials relating to the library's buildings, its librarians, and its history as well as genealogy research and papers from the Cox and Hines families.

Held at: Doylestown Historical Society [Contact Us]

Extent:: 2.5 linear feet
Abstract:: The Attleborough Library Company, renamed the Langhorne Library Company after Langhorne Borough's incorporation in 1876, was chartered in 1802. The library company served as a private, subscription-based library until 1960, when it opted into the public system. The Langhorne Library Company records, 1800-1971, consist of minute books, circulation registers, book catalogs and registers, financial records, subscription books, legal papers (including the 1802 charter), and miscellaneous articles, news clippings, and circulars.

Held at: Historic Langhorne Association [Contact Us]

Extent:: 4.5 linear feet
Abstract:: The Malvern Public Library was founded in Malvern, Chester County, Pennsylvania as the Malvern Public Library and Reading Room Association in 1894, supported by the Malvern Friends Library Company. The Association changed its name to the Malvern Public Library in 1899 when it received its charter and certificate of incorporation. The Malvern Public Library became associated with Malvern Borough in 1912 and a part of the Chester County Library System in 1964. The Malvern Public Library is still operational as of 2015. The Malvern Public Library records, 1873-2004 (bulk 1926-1989), consist of minute books, circulation records, financial records, other administrative papers, photographs, and various other materials from the Malvern Public Library and its predecessor organizations, the Malvern Library Company and the Malvern Public Library and Reading Room Association.

Held at: Malvern Historical Commission [Contact Us]

Extent:: 2.5 linear feet
Abstract:: The Yardley Library Company (Yardley, Bucks County, Pennsylvania), originally the Yardleyville Library Company, was established in 1845 and incorporated in 1877. A building for the Library was erected in 1878. Initially a subscription library, the company became a free library in 1918, and was used as a community library until 1977, when a branch of the Bucks County Library was constructed outside of town in Lower Makefield Township. The Yardley Library Company records, 1845-1977, document the library over a 130-year period beginning with its founding in 1845. It includes minutes books, financial records, director's reports, circulation and library registers, circulation statistics, library catalogs, librarian's reports, and some correspondence, blueprints, and other miscellaneous records.

Held at: Yardley Historical Association [Contact Us]

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