Subject: Subscription libraries - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 46.0 volumes
Abstract:: In 1731, Benjamin Franklin and a group of intellectual Philadelphians established the Library Company of Philadelphia, a subscription library supported by its shareholders. The Library Company flourished because it adopted a purchasing policy responsive to the needs of its intellectually alert, economically ambitious, but non-elite membership. The Library Company of Philadelphia is now an independent research library specializing in American society and culture from the 17th to 19th centuries. The history of this organization is best documented by its minute books dating from 1731 to 2000. The collection consists of minute books documenting the meetings of the Directors (both the final approved version of the minutes and the rough drafts of the minutes), 1731 to 2000; the Trustees of the Loganian Library, 1853 to 1876; and the Committee for Fixing the Value of Lost Books, 1785 to 1848. In addition to meeting minutes, the minute books include financial reports, and supporting...(see more)

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Extent:: 3.0 linear feet and 2 containers, 52 volumes
Abstract:: In 1731, Benjamin Franklin and a group of intellectual Philadelphians established the Library Company of Philadelphia, a subscription library supported by its shareholders. The Library Company of Philadelphia is now an independent research library specializing in American society and culture from the 17th to 19th centuries. The mission of the Library Company of Philadelphia includes preserving, interpreting, making available, and augmenting the valuable materials within its care. In order to achieve this mission, the Library Company of Philadelphia curates exhibits, hosts symposia and conferences, and publishes works regarding the Library Company and its collections. This collection consists of printed material created by the Library Company of Philadelphia. Included are brochures; information about resources and services; event brochures, announcements, exhibit catalogues, and conference programs; and published works regarding the Library Company of Philadelphia or the materials...(see more)

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Extent:: 12.0 volumes
Abstract:: In 1731, Benjamin Franklin and a number of his fellow members of the Junto founded the Library Company of Philadelphia, in order to provide its members access to books that they could not afford to purchase individually, but could afford to purchase collectively. Fifty subscribers invested forty shillings each and promised to pay ten shillings a year thereafter to buy books and maintain a shareholder's library. Thus "the Mother of all American Subscription Libraries" was established. Over the years, the Library Company continues to be supported by its members who participate in a centuries-old tradition by becoming shareholders and therefore allowing the Library Company of Philadelphia to continue serving the public, free of charge. This collection consists of twelve volumes of shareholders records dating from 1742 to 2007. The volumes, Record Books A to L, document share purchases and transfers of shares. Entries include date, name of member, and occasionally brief notes on...(see more)

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Extent:: 0.5 linear feet (several volumes, several folders, and a set of borrowers cards)
Abstract:: Byberry Library Company was a subscription-based library in the Byberry section of Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was established on December 29, 1794. Although the stockholders were not exclusively members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), the Library was generally under Quaker management, and occupied the schoolhouse of the Byberry Friends Meeting for most of its existence. This collection dates from about 1876-2000 and includes scattered records from the Byberry Library Company, such as acquisition/donation records, inventories of books, minutes, and circulation records. The highlight of this collection is a volume, dated 1876-1945, with circulation records of subscribers.

Held at: Byberry Library [Contact Us]

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:: 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:: 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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