Scoville Public Library in Salisbury, Connecticut claims to be the oldest public library; they have a plaque.
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin started the first library in Philadelphia
The address of the Franklin County Public Library is: 106 First Street, Meadville, 39653 0336
Benjamin Franklin is credited with starting the first lending library and first fire department in the US. He also invented bifocal glasses and an effective heating stove.
The first public library that was opened in 1747 was located in the town of Saulieu. Saulieu is in the eastern part of France.
The first 'lending' public library was in England, it is located in the London Guildhall and it was built in 1425. The first library in Europe was a private one, founded in France by King Charles V in 1368.
Benjamin Franklin's subscription library, "The Library Company of Philadelphia," is the first of its kind in what would become the United States Benjamin Franklin's subscription library, "The Library Company of Philadelphia," is the first of its kind in what would become the United States Before that in 1701, the Anglican Society for the Propagation of the Gospel began collecting books in England to establish church libraries in American Episcopalian Churches. Many churches, which existed before the days of good public libraries, still have church libraries.
Believing in the importance of self-education, he founded the first public library in America in 1731 and chartered it in 1742 as the Philadelphia Library.
The first public library in America was established in 1731 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Benjamin Franklin. This library, known as the Library Company of Philadelphia, was significant because it was the first library in the country that was open to the public and not just to a select group of individuals. It set a precedent for the establishment of public libraries across the United States, promoting access to knowledge and education for all members of society.
The Library Company is America's first successful lending library and oldest cultural institution. It was founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin as a subscription library supported by its shareholders, as it is to this day. See: http://www.librarycompany.org/about/index.htm -- Libarian, University of Hawaii at Manoa
The Academy and College of Philadelphia which evolved into the University of Pennsylvania, the first Pennsylvania fire department, the first American Hospital, Franklin and Marshall College and the first public lending library.
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