Editing Public library (section)

===19th–20th centuries===
====United Kingdom====
[[File:James Silk Buckingham by Clara S. Lane.jpg|thumb|[[James Silk Buckingham]] led the campaign for public libraries in the mid-19th century.]]

In 1835, and against government opposition, [[James Silk Buckingham]], MP for Sheffield and a supporter of the [[temperance movement]], was able to secure the Chair of the [[Select committee (United Kingdom)|select committee]] which would examine "the extent, causes, and consequences of the prevailing vice of intoxication among the labouring classes of the United Kingdom" and propose solutions. [[Francis Place]], a campaigner for the working class, agreed that "the establishment of parish libraries and district reading rooms, and popular lectures on subjects both entertaining and instructive to the community might draw off a number of those who now frequent public houses for the sole enjoyment they afford".<ref>Select Committee on inquiry into drunkenness, ''Report'' (1834)</ref> Buckingham introduced to Parliament a Public Institution Bill allowing boroughs to charge a tax to set up libraries and museums, the first of its kind. Although this did not become law, it had a major influence on [[William Ewart (English politician)|William Ewart]] MP and [[Joseph Brotherton]] MP, who introduced a bill which would "[empower] boroughs with a population of 10,000 or more to raise a ½d for the establishment of museums".<ref>Kelly & Kelly (1977), p. 77</ref> This became the [[Museums Act 1845]].

The advocacy of Ewart and Brotherton then succeeded in having a select committee set up to consider public library provision. The Report argued that the provision of public libraries would steer people towards temperate and moderate habits. With a view to maximising the potential of current facilities, the committee made two significant recommendations. They suggested that the government should issue grants to aid the foundation of libraries and that the Museums Act 1845 should be amended and extended to allow for a tax to be levied for the establishment of public libraries.<ref>Minto (1932) chapters 3-4</ref><ref>Murison (1971) chapter 2</ref>

Objections were raised about the increase in [[taxation]], the potential infringement on private enterprise and the existing library provision such as [[mechanics' institutes]] and the fear that it would give rise to "unhealthy social agitation".<ref>Hansard (1850) Col. 848</ref> The bill passed through [[Parliament]] as most MPs felt that public libraries would provide facilities for self-improvement through books and reading for all classes, and that the greater levels of education attained by providing public libraries would result in lower [[crime rate]]s.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Under the terms of the [[Museums Act 1845]], the municipalities of [[Warrington]] and [[Salford, Greater Manchester|Salford]] established libraries in their museums. Warrington Municipal Library opened in 1848.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Although by the mid-19th century, England could claim 274 [[subscription library|subscription libraries]] and Scotland, 266, the foundation of the modern public library system in Britain is the [[Public Libraries Act 1850]]. The act first gave local [[municipal borough|boroughs]] the power to establish free public libraries and was the first legislative step toward the creation of an enduring national institution that provides universal free access to information and literature. In the 1830s, at the height of the [[Chartism|Chartist]] movement, there was a general tendency towards reformism in the United Kingdom. The middle classes were concerned that the workers' free time was not being well-spent. This was prompted more by Victorian middle class paternalism than by demand from the lower social orders.<ref>McMenemy (2009), pp. 24-26</ref> Campaigners felt that encouraging the lower classes to spend their free time on morally uplifting activities, such as reading, would promote greater social good.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Llibrary.htm|title=History of the Public Libraries Act|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316170538/http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Llibrary.htm|archive-date=16 March 2014}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=October 2021}} [[Norwich]] lays claim to being the first municipality to adopt the Public Libraries Act 1850 (which allowed any municipal borough with a population of 100,000 or more to introduce a halfpenny rate to establish public libraries—although not to buy books); although it did not then establish a library until 1857.<ref name="Minto1932" />

[[File:Kingswood Library.jpg|thumb|A modern library in the United Kingdom, located on [[Kingswood Estate]], [[London Borough of Southwark|Southwark]], 2025]]

In 1848, Warrington opened a [[Warrington Museum & Art Gallery|museum and library]] under the terms of the [[Museums Act 1845]]:<ref name="Minto1932">{{cite book |last1=Minto |first1=John |title=A History of the Public Library Movement in Great Britain and Ireland |date=1932 |publisher=George Allen & Unwin Ltd |location=London |pages=96-98 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.198038/page/n94/mode/1up |access-date=31 May 2025}}</ref> it was the first [[Rates in the United Kingdom|rate]]-supported library in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |title=Warrington's Libraries |url=https://warringtonhistorysociety.uk/warringtons-libraries/ |website=Warrington History Society |access-date=31 May 2025}}</ref> [[Salford Museum and Art Gallery]] first opened in November 1850 as "The Royal Museum & Public Library", the first unconditionally free public library in England.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ewm/001ewm/024_sal_mayor/index.html |publisher=Manchesteronline |title=Eye witness in Manchester |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513165303/http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ewm/001ewm/024_sal_mayor/index.html |archive-date=13 May 2008 }} Retrieved on 5 September 2008</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitsalford.info/whattosee/heritage/industrialheritage/industrialheritage1st.htm|publisher=visitsalford.info|title=1st In Salford|access-date=19 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107050723/http://www.visitsalford.info/whattosee/heritage/industrialheritage/industrialheritage1st.htm|archive-date=7 January 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> Early public libraries established under the 1850 Act were [[Winchester]] (1851), [[Manchester]] (1852), [[Bolton]] (1853) and Oxford (1854), followed by [[Liverpool]], [[Kidderminster]], [[Cambridge]], [[Birkenhead]] and [[Sheffield]]. The library opened in [[Castlefield|Campfield]], Manchester, in 1842 was the first library to operate a "free" lending library without subscription.<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2238494.stm | work=BBC News | title=Anniversary of first public library | date=5 September 2002 | access-date=14 April 2010 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040620130317/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2238494.stm | archive-date=20 June 2004 }}</ref> Salford's library, which had opened two years earlier, began as a reference library, before it likewise began to offer a lending service in 1854.<ref name="Minto1932" />

The Public Libraries Act 1850 was noteworthy because it established the principle of free public libraries. In 1866, an amending act, the [[Public Libraries Amendment Act 1866]] ([[29 & 30 Vict.]] c. 114) was passed<ref>Public Libraries Amendment Act, 29 & 30 Vict. c. 114</ref> which eliminated the population limit for the establishment of a library and replaced the two-thirds majority previously required for adoption with a simple majority. It also allowed neighbouring parishes to combine with an existing or potential library authority. Despite the rise in the level of tax public libraries could levy, it was still very difficult for boroughs to raise enough capital to fund new libraries. The growth of the public library movement in the wake of the 1850 act relied heavily on the donations of philanthropists.<ref>Kelly (1973), pp. 107-137</ref>

County libraries were a later development, which were made possible by the establishment of county councils in 1888. They normally have a large central library in a major town with smaller branch libraries in other towns and a mobile library service covering rural areas.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

The [[Public Libraries Act 1964]] required local authorities to provide a "comprehensive and efficient" library service. <ref>Marwick, A. (1982). ''British society since 1945,''p.140. Harmondsworth: Penguin</ref> Public libraries built in the 1960s were characterized by modernism. <ref>Black, Alistair. 2011. "‘New Beauties’: The Design of British Public Library Buildings in the 1960s". ''Library Trends'' 60 (1): 71–111. doi:10.1353/lib.2011.0033.</ref>

====United States====
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The modern public library grew at a great pace at the end of the 19th century especially in the [[English-speaking world]]. Philanthropists and businessmen, including [[John Passmore Edwards]], [[Henry Tate]] and [[Andrew Carnegie]], helped to fund the establishment of large numbers of public libraries for the edification of the masses.

[[Public libraries in North America]] developed from the 18th century to today; as the country grew more populous and wealthier, factors such as a push for education and desire to [[Sharing|share]] knowledge led to broad public support for free libraries. In addition, money donations by private philanthropists provided the seed capital to get many libraries started. In some instances, collectors donated large book collections.<ref>Jesse Hauk Shera, ''Foundations of the public library;: The origins of the public library movement in New England, 1629–1885'' (1965)</ref>

[[File:Illustration of Redwood Library and Athenaeum in 1768.jpg|thumb|Illustration of Redwood Library and Athenaeum in 1768]]
The first public lending library still in operation in the US is the [[Franklin_Public_Library_(Massachusetts)|Franklin Public Library]] which began with no building and just over 100 books donated by [[Benjamin Franklin]] after they named their town after him. The first modern public library in the world supported by taxes was the Peterborough Town Library in [[Peterborough, New Hampshire]]. It was "established in 1833".<ref>{{cite web|title=History and Renovation of the Peterborough Town Library|url=https://peterboroughtownlibrary.org/history-and-renovation-9330/location/peterborough|website=Peterborough Town Library|access-date=16 November 2022}}</ref> The first large public library supported by taxes in the [[United States]] was the [[Boston Public Library]], which was established in 1848 but did not open its doors to the public until 1854.<ref>{{cite web|title=Boston Public Library A Brief History and Description|url=http://www.bpl.org/general/history.htm|website=Boston Public Library|access-date=26 October 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626114123/http://www.bpl.org/general/history.htm|archive-date=26 June 2014}}</ref>

The Redwood Library and Athenaeum was founded in 1747 by a group led by Abraham Redwood.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.redwoodlibrary.org|title=Home|access-date=15 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527094742/http://www.redwoodlibrary.org/|archive-date=27 May 2016}}</ref> It was the first library in Rhode Island and the oldest lending library in America. Over half of its volumes were lost when it was used as the British Officers Club during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]. An effort was made to replace the original collection. Over 90% of the volumes lost were returned. The library is still in use.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.redwoodlibrary.org/history|title=History|access-date=15 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423010514/http://www.redwoodlibrary.org/history|archive-date=23 April 2016}}</ref>

A total of 1,689 [[Carnegie library|Carnegie libraries]] were built in the United States between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to universities. By 1930, half the American public libraries had been built by Carnegie.<ref>{{cite book | last = Jones | first = Theodore | title = Carnegie Libraries across America | publisher = Preservation Press | location = Washington | year = 1997 | isbn = 978-0-471-14422-9 }}</ref>

Federal library legislation supporting public libraries has been a focus of the American Library Association, Washington Office. <ref>Molumby, Lawrence E. (1996).  "[https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/ppa ALA Washington Office: A Chronology of its First Fifty Years.]"American Library Association.</ref>

Democracy within the life of libraries in the 20th and 21st century has been explored in the essay, "Libraries, Democracy, and
Citizenship: Twenty Years after 9/11."<ref>Buschman, John. (2023) "Libraries, Democracy, and Citizenship: Twenty Years after 9/11." ''Library Quarterly.''93 (April):182-201.</ref>

====Other countries====
[[File:Gonohe town librery.jpg|thumb|Library in the rural town of [[Gonohe, Aomori]], Japan]]
The first public library in [[Australia]] was the Melbourne Public Library (now the [[State Library of Victoria]]), which opened in 1856, just a few years after their introduction into Britain. This was however purely a reference library. In September 1869, the [[New South Wales]] (NSW) government opened as the Free Public Library, Sydney (now the [[State Library of New South Wales]]) by purchasing a bankrupt subscription library. In 1896, the [[Brisbane]] Public Library was established. The library's collection, purchased by the [[Queensland]] Government from the private collection of [[George Rogers Harding|Justice Harding]]. In 1935 the ''[[Free library movement]]'' was established in New South Wales advocating for free public libraries to be supported by municipal authorities.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Remington|first1=G. C.|title=The Free Library Movement|journal=The Australian Quarterly|volume=9|issue=2|pages=87–93|doi=10.2307/20629436|jstor=20629436|year=1937}}</ref> A similar movement was established in Victoria within a couple of years.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1937|title=Free Public Libraries| url=http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/114472|access-date=4 September 2019|website=State Library Victoria }}</ref>

"[[New Zealand]] was, by the third quarter of the nineteenth century, a veritable paradise for readers, with the formation of public libraries following closely on the heels of the settlers as they spread across the country."<ref>Traue, J. E. 2007. “The Public Library Explosion in Colonial New Zealand.” ''Libraries & the Cultural Record: Exploring the History of Collections of Recorded Knowledge 42'' (2): 151–64.</ref>

Pre-Independence libraries in [[India]] have been discussed by R.K. Bhatt and K. Kandhasamy.<ref>Bhatt, R. K., and Kandhasamy K. 2020. "A Study of Public Libraries in India: Pre-Independence Period". ''Library Philosophy & Practice'', November, 1–20.</ref>

[[Eugène Morel]], a writer and one of the librarians at the [[Bibliothèque nationale]], pioneered modern public libraries in France. He put forward his ideas in the 1910 book ''La Librairie publique''.<ref>{{cite web |title= La Librairie publique |year= 1910 |publisher= Enssib.fr |format= PDF |url= http://www.enssib.fr/bibliotheque-numerique/document-brut-48832 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111003225919/http://www.enssib.fr/bibliotheque-numerique/document-brut-48832 |archive-date= 3 October 2011 }}
</ref><ref>Gaëtan Benoît, ''Eugène Morel, pioneer of public libraries in France'', Litwin Books, 2008.
</ref>

Mexican public libraries trace their origins to convent and monastery libraries in the sixteenth century, but the first modern public library dates from 1758 when the Biblioteca Turriana—named after its founder and donors, the three cathedral canons Luis Antonio Torres Quintero, Cayetano Antonio de Torres Tuñón, and Luis Antonio de Torres Tuñón—was established at the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral.   Liberal governments seized its holdings in 1867 to establish the National Library.

Japanese public libraries greatly expanded in the 1950s with the Library Law.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chandler |first1=G. |title=The Japanese library and information system: a Broad comparative survey of its evolution and structure, 1947-82 |journal=International Library Review |date=1983 |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=389–407|doi=10.1016/0020-7837(83)90059-6 }}</ref>