July 6th, 2009 | Author: admin
Library Advocates MEET!
Thursday July 9th, 2009 6:00PM to 8:00PM
Oakland Main Library West Auditorium
125 14th Street, Oakland (refreshments will be served)
http://savethelibraries.spaces.live.com/
Oakland Library Advocates meet to help Library Patrons and Librarians
My dear friend Sue R. forwarded this interesting bit of history about the first library in the United States of America… from June 30 Writer’s Almanac http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org :
“It was on this day (June 30) in 1731 that Ben Franklin founded the first circulating library, a forerunner to the now ubiquitous free public library. He started it as a way to help settle intellectual arguments among his group of Philadelphia friends, the Junto, a group of civic-minded individuals gathered together to discuss the important issues of their day.
“Each of the 50 charter members bought an initial share into the company (40 shillings), which helped fund the buying of books, and then paid a smaller yearly fee (10 shillings) that went to buying more books and maintaining the library. In exchange, the members could borrow any of the books. Donations of books were gladly accepted.
“They called their charter the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the next year, Franklin hired America’s first librarian, Louis Timothee. At first, the books were stored at the librarian’s house, but by the end of the decade, they were moved to the Pennsylvania State House, which is now known as Independence Hall.”
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