[1] It was the first public library in England to be set up under the provisions of the Public Libraries Act 1850,[a] which allowed local authorities to impose a local tax of one penny to pay for the service.
[2] The terms of the act required that a poll of ratepayers had to be held before the local authority was allowed to spend money on public libraries, and at least two-thirds had to vote in favour.
[3] The project was the initiative of John Potter, first Mayor of Manchester, and fellow members of the Portico Library, who started a fund to raise money for the purchase of books and a suitable building to house them.
[6] So busy was it during its first week that a police officer was assigned to control the crowd around the borrowing desk.
[5] The Campfield library was replaced in 1882 by a new building at the corner of Deansgate and Liverpool Road, which is now home to the Spanish Instituto Cervantes.