A History of Libraries in North America

April 4, 2023/Wildrose Media/

Seeing as it’s Library Week, I thought I’d do a little research into the history of North American libraries. The title of ‘oldest American library’ is contested, but the front-runners include the Darby Free Library and The Library Company, both located in Pennsylvania, USA.

Initially libraries were private collections of books held by those who could afford to collect the books and properly house them. Early libraries typically began with book donations from these private collectors. Boards were elected, paid memberships offered, and annual dues used to fund future acquisitions.

Though philanthropist Andrew Carnegie was instrumental in funding libraries across the United States, in this blog I will be addressing libraries built prior to his arrival on the scene.

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Biblioteca Palafoxiana

The “First Library of the Americas” was founded in Mexico by Juan Palafax y Mendoza, the viceroy of New Spain and bishop of Puebla from 1640 to 1655. He donated 5,000 books to the local seminary, provided the books were made available to any (literate person) who wanted access to them.

This library is still in use, it currently houses about 40,000 books, many of them pre-dating Mexico’s independence. The library building was declared a historic monument in 1981.

Harvard Library

The Harvard Library is the oldest library in the United States, and the largest academic library in the world. It boasts a huge collection of maps, photographs, manuscripts, and books. It has grown, to a large extent from the donations of private collectors, most notably John Harvard, Thomas Hollis V, and John Hull.

John Harvard was a Puritan minister. In 1638 he left a 400-book donation to Harvard College in Cambridge, MA. His gift began the library’s collection. Sadly the entire collection of 5,000 books was destroyed by fire in 1764. After a new Harvard Hall was built, 15,000 books were added to the shelves. Today, spread out among 73 locations it hosts a wide range of historical documents, film, and artifacts including one of only 23 complete Gutenberg Bibles.

John Hull was a silversmith who knew John Harvard personally. He left Harvard College money and a library at his death.

Thomas Hollis V was a wealthy English merchant who gave generously to the College. Harvard’s online Library Information system (HOLLIS) is named after him.

Dr. Thomas Bray

In 1699 Anglican minister Dr. Thomas Bray established a Volunteer Society, later known as The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Concerned with the lack of literature available to the clergy, he used donations to this charity to buy educational materials and had them shipped to the American colonies.

During a trip to Maryland in 1700, Dr. Bray established 17 parish libraries. These libraries consisted mostly of religious books for the use of priests in Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York. Bray’s goal was to “recover the unity of the church” from heretical influences. The first of his libraries was founded in Annapolis, MD and was funded in part by Princess Anne, who was delighted to be the namesake for the state’s capital city.

After about a year in the New World, Dr. Bray returned to England. He died in 1730.

Reverend Bray is credited with establishing 100 libraries in the New World and 200 libraries in England.

Darby Free Library

The oldest continuously operating free library in the United States is located in Darby, PA. It was established in 1743 by a group of Quakers who dubbed it the Darby Free Library. Twenty-nine men signed the article of agreement. The initial purchase of 45 books was shipped from London at the cost of 25 pounds, 10 shillings (PA currency), and they arrived in November of 1743.

The library’s original location was in the John Pearson residence. John had been elected the first librarian. Lost book fines were hefty, set at one and a half times the cost of the missing book. Later these fines were decreased to between 3 and 6 pence, depending on the book’s value.

Forty-three of the original volumes are on display today. These include Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained by John Milton, Gordon’s Geographical Grammar, and Raleigh: The History of the World.

Originally only a select few had access to the library, but in 1826, for an annual fee of $3, interested persons could become members and access the collection. In 1898 the annual dues were dropped and the library became accessible to the general public.

Having been relocated several times, it has been at its current location since 1872.

The Darby Free Library celebrated its 280th anniversary on March 10, 2023.

Library Company of Philadelphia

This library was founded in 1731 by The Junto, a group of artisans and tradesmen also known as the Leather Apron Club. This group of intellects, led by Benjamin Franklin met on Friday evenings to discuss politics, morals, and philosophy. Their discussions frequently required fact-checking. Tired of slogging books back and forth, the men decided to each bring their books and house them in a common area in the meeting place, for easy access. It was decided members would be allowed to bring the commonly held books home for careful study.

Having apprenticed under his brother James, Ben Franklin became the official printer of the Pennsylvania colony by 1730. His earliest print jobs included paper currency, his newspaper the Pennsylvania Gazette, his General Magazine, and his book Poor Richards Almanack.

Ben Franklin was concerned with the education of youth and citizens of Philadelphia, especially as very few books were being printed in America. Most books had to be ordered and shipped from Europe, making owning books cost-prohibitive for all but the very wealthy. The establishment of a public lending library allowed the public access to books they otherwise would not be able to afford. While library members could freely access the books, non-members would have to leave collateral in order to borrow a book.

The Library Company of Philadelphia became America’s first public lending library. Today it remains a nonprofit, shareholder-funded institution.

Originally located in the home of a Junto member, in 1740 it moved to the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall). From 1774 to 1800, members of the Continental Congress had access to the library, making it (at least in practice) the first Library of Congress. After relocating several more times, this library has been at its current location, 1314 Locust Street Philadelphia, PA since 1789.

The library’s mission is to preserve early American history. It houses (non circulating) rare books, manuscripts, photographs and works of art. Its current collection consists of 500,000 books including 2,000 which once belonged to its founder, Ben Franklin. These books are made accessible through public and private conferences, lectures, and online exhibits.

Libraries in Canada

Official ‘public’ libraries were not established in Canada until the late 18th century. However, this does not mean early Canadians had no books. Many settlers to New France were highly educated and intellectual, and the earliest libraries were private book collections. New France’s Marc Lescarbot brought a collection of books with him to Port Royal in 1606. It is estimated that there were more books than people in New France at the time of it’s succession.

Religious orders such as the Jesuits established libraries at both the Canadian Jesuit Mission of 1632 and the Jesuit College in Quebec City, 1635.

The first public library was the Quebec library, and the organizational meeting for such was advertised in the Quebec Gazette on January 7, 1779. Registration fees were set at 5 pounds, and annual dues were 2 pounds. Only books which were not contrary to religion or ‘good morals’ were permitted. Books were only lent to subscribers. By 1822 the library boasted 4000 volumes.

The library at Kings College in Windsor, Nova Scotia dates to 1800 and housed several early European books from the mid-1400s. The Halifax library was established in 1824, though it remained private until 1875. In 1882 the province of Ontario established the first free public libraries in Canada. These were funded/supported by a levy on property. (Burpee, Lawrence J. “Canadian Libraries of Long Ago.” Bulletin of the American Library Association 2, no. 5 (1908): 136–43. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25684762, accessed 4-3-2023).