First Posted: 7/3/2013
Happy Fourth of July.
Thinking about the revolutionaries’ struggle for independence got me thinking about our democracy and all the freedoms that we enjoy. Libraries play a role in keeping our democracy strong by providing free and uncensored access to information.
Public libraries, as they exist today, began in Colonial days. Benjamin Franklin, a lover of books and literature, owned more than 4,000 volumes in his personal collection. In 1741, he established the country’s first subscription library. Community members pooled their collections to create a lending library. People bought stock in the company to gain borrowing privileges. This initial effort later became the Library Company of Philadelphia, which still exists to this day.
Beginning in the late 1700s, booksellers and print shops would rent copies of popular materials, including novels. As the demand for reading materials grew, the practice of renting books led to the innovation of circulating libraries, the first of which opened in 1762 supported by fees paid by the users.
The Boston Public Library, which opened in 1854, is the first tax-supported public library. The library was established to provide free access to materials to all citizens, with the idea that the strength of our democratic government is dependent on a well-informed citizenry.
The library movement grew. In 1890, Melvil Dewey was elected president of the American Library Association. Dewey developed the Dewey Decimal System that allows users to find books on any subject in any library by the call number. Industrialist Andrew Carnegie championed the public library movement and by 1920 his estate had invested more than $50 million to fund library buildings.
Today libraries collect and preserve local community records. Libraries provide free Internet access and library staff members are available to assist those who do not have computer experience. Often referred to as the “People’s University,” the public library is an informal education center providing point of need information for people in all stages of life. The library is the one place where there is no admission fee and all ideas are welcome and represented.
Visit the library in your community and celebrate your freedom to read.
Catie Roche is the director of the Robeson County Public Library. You can reach her at [email protected] She is currently reading “Wedding Night by Sophia Kinsella.”
