Public libraries in North America
As the United States developed from the 18th century, growing more populous and wealthier, factors such as a push for education and desire to share knowledge led to broad public support for free libraries.
Dr. Thomas Bennet, dated June 15, 1725, Checkley wrote:[5] In a short Time I propose to send you an account of the charitable Society of the Church of England, and of the public Library erected here: the laying the Foundation of both which, I have been (thanks to my good God) the happy tho' unworthy Instrument.The library was destroyed when the Old State House interior was consumed by fire on December 9, 1747, when many books, papers, and records were destroyed.
John Sharpe, who had traveled as a missionary priest over the colonies from Maryland to Connecticut, thought the parish library in New York inadequate.
Some books have been formerly sent to New York but as parochial they remain in the hands of the Incumbent.He proposed the institution should be "publick and provincial" and "open every day in the week at convenient hours," when "all men may have liberty to read in the Library."
Just before returning to England in 1713 after a decade spent as a missionary priest in America, he left behind 238 of his volumes to be "given for the laying of a foundation of a Public Library."
The social library operated under a suggested user fee and was open to any youth between the ages of twelve and twenty-one.
In 1817, Torrey published The Intellectual Torch, a treatise advocating for a national system of free public libraries.
Torrey's plan included a tax on the import and export of alcohol to support local free schools and libraries.
[24] Carnegie was attached to free libraries since his days as a young messenger-boy in Pittsburgh, when each Saturday he borrowed a new book from one.
James Bertram, Carnegie's chief aide from 1894 to 1914 administered the library program, issued guidelines and instituted an architectural review process.
[26] His libraries served not only as free circulating collections of books, magazines and newspapers, but also provided classrooms for growing school districts, Red Cross stations, and public meeting spaces, not to mention permanent jobs for the graduates of newly formed library schools.
This policy was in accord with Carnegie's philosophy that the dispensation of wealth for the benefit of society must never be in the form of free charity but rather must be as a buttress to the community's responsibility for its own welfare.
The city council had to furnish a site for the building and guarantee that $10,000 in municipal funds would be budgeted for the library each year.
Ring argues that the library was originally a mechanism of social control, "an antidote to the miners' proclivity for drinking, whoring, and gambling."
[31] As VanSlyck (1989) shows, the last years of the 19th century saw acceptance of the idea that libraries should be available to the American public free of charge.
On one hand, wealthy philanthropists favored grandiose monuments that reinforced the paternalistic metaphor and enhanced civic pride.
They wanted a grandiose showcase that created a grand vista through a double-height, alcoved bookhall with domestically-scaled reading rooms, perhaps dominated by the donor's portrait over the fireplace.
In 1943 Librarian of Congress, Archibald MacLeish appointed Carleton B. Joeckel to chair a committee on Post-War Standards for Public Libraries.
Canada's small libraries were mostly held by rich families or religious institutions, and the general public was not admitted.
[50] "Subsequently legislative collections were established in 1791 in Upper and in 1792 in Lower Canada; and in 1796 the first public library was founded in Montreal.
[50] Due to Canada's size and diversity, the development of the modern Canadian public library was more of a slow evolution than a quick transition as each of the provinces' specific conditions (geographic, economic, cultural, demographic, etc.)
[53] The public library that opened in Toronto, Ontario, was mostly due to a campaign by city alderman John Hallam.
[54] Its development flourished after 1900 when Carnegie grants began to aid in building construction and the expansion of collections and services.
During this time, open access and children's departments were introduced, and standard cataloguing and classification systems were adopted.
[55] Many of the original branches, funded by a Carnegie grant, still stand and continue to be operated by the Toronto Public Library.
[56] Other provinces were affected by Carnegie as well and followed Ontario's lead in legislating tax support for library services.
[58][59] The next provinces to follow were New Brunswick in 1929, Newfoundland in 1935, Prince Edward Island in 1936, Nova Scotia in 1937, Québec in 1959, and then the Northwest Territories in 1966.
"[55] Though the services offered vary from local branch to local branch, public libraries in Canada are not only places to read and borrow books; they are also hubs of community services, such as early reading programs, computer access, and tutoring and literacy help for children and adults.
[62] Then, in the 1960s, Canadian public libraries felt the benefits of the era's emphasis on education – service expanded, buildings were remodeled or constructed from scratch, and Centennial grants were provided in order to improve the system.
Its collection of 1,250,000 documents, including books, maps and recordings makes it one of the largest libraries in Mexico and Latin America.
