The Role of Benjamin Franklin in the American Library

Joan Farrell

The Role of Benjamin Franklin in the American Library

More than half a century ago, the American Library Association recognized the importance of library history by establishing a Library History Round Table (LHRT). The LHRT’s Mission Statement is “to encourage research and publication on library history and promote awareness and discussion of historical issues in librarianship.” This roundtable sponsors conferences and awards for excellence in library history research. The purpose of my research study as part of the Laura Bush Cohort at ClarionUniversity was to re-examine the historical record of Benjamin Franklin and his Library Company of Philadelphia and study the details of the library’s day-to-day function from the perspective of modern librarianship.

The Library Company of Philadelphia was America’s first subscription library. It was founded in 1731by Benjamin Franklin with the intention to meet the needs of the general public, not the economic or socially elite. It is hard to imagine a time in America when books were not readily available, but such was the case in the early eighteenth century when seventeen year-old BenjaminFranklin left Boston to make his home in Philadelphia. With only two years of formal education which ended at age ten, Franklincontinued to school himself through self education. This was possible because he could read, and he resourcefully sought opportunities to lay his hands on books. Once settled in Philadelphia, he sought out other young men who enjoyed reading. They formed the Junto social club, a club for self-improvement, study and congenial company.The club members were ordinary laborers, craftsmen, farmersand tradesmen who did not have the means to spend money on books. The few books they owned were a luxury; their need for books inspired Franklinto devise a plan for a library in Philadelphia. He solicitedsubscribers willing to pay forty shillings each to join and pay an annual fee of ten shillings to augment further book purchases. Franklin’s model for a subscription library was unique because the collection reflected the interests of the library’s users.In previous library attempts, the collections were largely theology based. The earliest surviving catalogue dated 1741 revealed only one tenth of the collection represented theology, a contrast from the earlier attempt by Thomas Bray and the collections at the universities of Harvard and Yale. The 1723 to 1735 catalogue at Harvard College Library reveal two-thirds of its books were theological, and in 1743, half of the Yale’s library collection consisted of theology.

Franklinhad his library plan drawn into a legal document entitled Articles of Association; these Articles were later replaced by a Charter. The articles conveyed how the library would be managed and included the practice of holding an annual meeting for the election of directors and appointments of officers. Like the modern day trustee structure, the Library Company’s directors were the library’s governing body. There were provisions for non subscribers to use the library and borrow books which lived up to Franklin’s claim that the library was the “Philadelphia publick Library.”[1] Many of the library practices still relevant in the modern library setting include lending rules, proposed fines for overdue books, guidelines for the number of materials that could be checked out, and the practice of renewing library loans. Franklin’s plan was to build a collection that could circulate and be read at home anda reference collection to be consulted in the library for facts. Besides books that served knowledge and education, the library included recreational reading. Book selection and collection development were among the duties of the library’s directors, yet as membership grew, a suggestion box was placed in the library.

One very interesting discovery from this research study was that the practice of American libraries embracing modern technology is a three hundred year old traditiondating back to the Library Company of Philadelphia. Besides reading materials, the Library Company’s collection included the prevailing technology available at that time; the library offered its members the use of microscopes, telescopes, geological and natural history specimens and equipment for use in research, study and experiments in science. Some of the apparatuses that Franklin used for the experiments with electricity are still in the library’s collection.

The legacy of Benjamin Franklin on the American Library mentalife was one ofvision that is still relevant somethree centuries after he conceived the idea. In eighteenth century Philadelphia, ordinary tradesmen, laborers and farmers had library resources to improve their stations in life. Many of the subscribers attained the knowledge and political skills to contribute to their community and to participate in the political affairs of the time. From 1773 to circa 1800, the Library’ collection was housed in Philadelphia’s Carpenter’s Hall, and it served as our nation’s first Library of Congress. The Library Company’s resources were at the disposal of the First Continental Congress in 1774 and again used by the Second Continental Congress as delegates from the 13 Colonies convened and adopted the Nation’s Declaration of Independence. The library’s collection included books on political theory, philosophy, law, government, politics and diplomatic theory and helped serve the men framing the nation’s independent government. Nine members of the Library Company were signers of the Declaration of Independence. The library has been in continuous operation for nearly 300 years; it now serves as an independent research library specializing in American History and culture. For further information on the Library Company of Philadelphia, visit their website at

The findings of this research study help demonstrate the cultural and intellectual impact of a library in the community. I hope this study serves to inspire and stimulate additional discussion, interest, research and publication of library histories.

[1] Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1964), 141.