back to 1730s

Benjamin Franklin, along with other members of an intellectual discussion group, started the Library Company of Philadelphia on July 1, 1731. These individuals found that if they pooled their resources together they could buy books and share them. They all agreed to pitch in 10 shillings a year to fund the library. The collection consisted mostly of books about travel and voyages with books on theology, poems, social sciences, art, and economics represented in small numbers. Franklin printed a library catalog in 1741 listing 375 books in the library. The Library Company members consisted of elite members of society. Besides Franklin donors to the Library included John Penn and John Wesley. The library accepted donations from many individuals and soon it began to collect more than just books such as Eskimo parkas and a hand of a mummified princess. It was also used for meeting places for the First Continental Congress as well as the other governmental meetings. The Library Company of Philadelphia continued to be a place for society's elite to donate and share books. For more information about the Library Company of Philadelphia visit

http://www.librarycompany.org/instance.htm

back to 1730s

written by: Deanna Olson