Circulating library

[1] Circulating libraries offered an alternative in the 18th and 19th centuries to the large number of readers who could not afford the price of new books but also desired new reading material.

Many circulating libraries were perceived as the provider of sensational novels to a female clientele but that was not always the case.

[2] Circulating libraries were important cultural institutions in Britain and America during the 18th and 19th centuries, affording the rising middle class access to a broad range of reading material including poetry, plays, histories, biography, philosophy, travels, and especially fiction.

[4] Publishers and circulating libraries became decreasingly dependent on each other in the nineteenth century for their mutual profit.

However, when bestselling fiction titles went out of fashion quickly, many circulating libraries were left with inventory they could neither sell nor rent out.

This is one of the reasons why circulating libraries, such as Charles Edward Mudie, were eventually forced to close their doors in response to cheaper alternatives.

"[7] It was logical that they were considered to be the same since both libraries circulated books and charged a subscription fee.

[1][8] Circulating libraries were popular in the 18th and 19th centuries and were located in large and small communities.

The elements of novels that made them sensational and alluring were the parts that deviated from what would usually happen in reality.

[13] Circulating libraries were highly criticized at the height of their popularity for being providers of novels.

People may have wanted their works to be anonymous to avoid the stigma of being associated with a publisher with a dubious reputation.

In an attempt to compensate for the loss of revenue, the subscription fees were lessened to daily rates down from monthly or yearly ones.