The Library Company of Philadelphia is an independent research library specializing in American history and culture from the 17th through the 19th centuries. Open to the public free of charge, the Library Company houses an extensive non-circulating collection of rare books, manuscripts, broadsides, ephemera, prints, photographs, and works of art. The mission of the Library Company is to preserve, interpret, make available, and augment the valuable materials within its care.

Description:
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.

We serve a diverse constituency throughout Philadelphia and nationally and internationally, offering comprehensive reader services, an internationally renowned fellowship program, online catalogs, and regular exhibitions and public programs.

The Library Company regularly presents exhibits, lectures, symposia, conferences, gallery talks, and other programs in order to make the collections accessible to the widest possible audience. Exhibitions such as “Ben Franklin, Writer and Printer;” “Ardent Spirits: The Origins of the American Temperance Movement;” and “The Hook and the Book: the Emergence of Knitting and Crocheting in American Popular Culture” highlight various strengths of our collection in engaging ways. Program topics range widely; recent events have included a panel discussion on Philadelphia’s food history, casual open houses, the announcement of the 2007 National Book Award finalists, and numerous book release parties. Most events are free and open to the public (although reservations are often requested due to space constraints).

History:
In 1731, Benjamin Franklin convinced members of the Junto, his “society of mutual improvement,” to pool their resources and purchase a collection of books none could have afforded individually. Articles of Agreement were drafted on July 1, 1731, and the Library Company of Philadelphia was established when 50 founding shareholders signed on. Each contributed 40 shillings and agreed to pay ten shillings per year thereafter. As the Library Company’s collection grew, the book capital of each shareholder expanded as well.
The collections grew with the nation and reflect the country’s many faces and varied interests. From the Revolutionary War to 1800, when the national government was in Philadelphia, the Library Company also served as the Library of Congress. Until the 1850s it was the largest public library in America. All of the books the Library Company acquired year by year over more than two and a half centuries are still on its shelves, along with many others added since it was transformed into a research library in the 1950s.

Contact people:

Debbie Shapiro, Program Coordinator, (phone), (email) Sharon Thompson-Nowak, Development Associate, (phone), (email) Christina Deemer, Development Officer, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (215) 546-5167

Address:

1314 Locust Street Philadelphia, PA 19107 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.librarycompany.org

Directions:

The Library Company is located 1 block East of Broad Street on Locust. It sits next to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, which is on the corner of 13th and Locust.   Nearest Bus Stop: 32, 5 Minutes minute walk For maps or information, please see http://www.septa.com/

Miscellaneous Information

Are court referrals welcomed?
	No