Tuesday, July 14, 2020 – Public Libraries

I don’t think we realize how fortunate we are to have public libraries. They are really the most inclusive places in the country because they welcome all who enter regardless of financial status, religion, race, gender, etc. And they can broaden the worldviews and enrich the souls of the privileged multitude that takes advantage of all their resources. A good librarian can often make a difference in a person’s life. I know because my sister Julie Reed Bell does it every day in her job at the 56,000-student Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina. Kudos to you Julie!

According to Wikipedia, there are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries:

- They are generally supported by taxes — usually local, though any level of government can and may contribute.

- They are governed by a board to serve the public interest.

- They are open to all, and every community member can access the collection.

- They are entirely voluntary in that no one is ever forced to use the services provided.

- They provide basic services without charge.

Public access to books is not new. Romans made scrolls in dry rooms available to patrons of the baths and tried with some success to establish libraries within the empire.

The establishment of circulating libraries in the 18th century by booksellers and publishers provided a means of gaining profit and creating social centers within the community. The circulating libraries not only provided a place to sell books, but also a place to lend books for a price. These circulating libraries provided a variety of materials including the increasingly popular novels. Although the circulating libraries filled an important role in society, members of the middle and upper classes often looked down upon these libraries that regularly sold material from their collections and provided materials that were less sophisticated.

The Malatestiana Library, also known as the Malatesta Novello Library, is a public library dating from 1452 in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna (Italy). It was the first European civic library, i.e. belonging to the commune and open to everybody.

The foundation of the modern public library system in Britain is the Public Libraries Act 1850. The Act first gave local borough the power to establish free public libraries and was the first legislative step toward the creation of an enduring national institution that provides universal free access to information and literature. In the 1830s, at the height of the Chartist movement, there was a general tendency towards reformism in the United Kingdom. The middle classes were concerned that the workers' free time was not being well-spent. This was prompted more by Victorian middle-class paternalism than by demand from the lower social orders. Campaigners felt that encouraging the lower classes to spend their free time on morally uplifting activities, such as reading, would promote greater social good.

Andrew Carnegie

The modern public library grew at a great pace at the end of the 19th century especially in the English-speaking world. Philanthropists and businessmen, including John Passmore Edwards, Henry Tate and Andrew Carnegie, helped to fund the establishment of large numbers of public libraries for the edification of the masses.

Enoch Pratt

Among Carnegie’s many philanthropic efforts, the establishment of public libraries throughout the United States, Britain, Canada and other English-speaking countries was especially prominent. In this special driving interest of his, Carnegie was inspired by meetings with philanthropist Enoch Pratt (1808–1896). The Enoch Pratt Free Library (1886) of Baltimore, Maryland, impressed Carnegie deeply; he said, "Pratt was my guide and inspiration." Pratt offered a gift of a central library to Baltimore, four branch libraries — with two additional ones to be constructed shortly thereafter — and a financial endowment of $1,058,333. Further, he requested that Mayor William Pinkney Whyte and the council continue an annual appropriation to the new library system and support it in the years to come to supplement the interest and benefits accumulating from the principal of his bequest. His intention was to establish a library that "shall be for all, rich and poor without distinction of race or color, who, when properly accredited, can take out the books if they will handle them carefully and return them."

In total, Carnegie funded some 3,000 libraries, located in 47 US states, and also in Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the West Indies and Fiji.

According to the article “The Best Libraries in the World” at thebestcolleges.org, below are a few of the world’s best libraries.

1. Library of Congress – Washington, D.C., USA

The Library of Congress in Washington D.C. is essentially both the national library of the U.S. and the country's oldest federal cultural institution. Though it consists of only three buildings, it is the largest library in the world for shelf space and number of volumes. While open to the public for on-site research and as a tourist attraction, as the research institution of Congress, only members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, and other specified government officials can check out books. The library is formally known as the "library of last resort" in the U.S., charged with making certain items available to other national libraries if all other means have been exhausted. The library's holdings are vast, including more than 32 million books, more than 61 million manuscripts, a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, one of only four perfect vellum copies of the Gutenberg Bible in the world, over one million newspapers from the last three centuries, over five million maps, six million pieces of sheet music and more than 14 million photos and prints.

2. Bodleian Library – Oxford, England, United Kingdom

Established in 1602 as Oxford University's library, Bodleian is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. The library houses more than 11 million items, including many of historical importance — four copies of the Magna Carta, a Gutenberg Bible and Shakespeare's First Folio from 1623, just to name a few. Though Bodleian comprises multiple buildings, perhaps the most visually interesting is Radcliffe Camera, built in 1737-1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library. The earliest circular library in England, Radcliffe has outlasted its 15 minutes of fame by appearing in multiple films, including Young Sherlock Holmes, The Saint, The Red Violin and The Golden Compass.

3. Reading Room at the British Museum – London, England, United Kingdom

The Reading Room at the British Museum is located in the center of the Museum's Great Court. The building's domed exterior protects a unique interior ceiling made of a special kind of pâpier-maché, which is another first on our list! For much of the room's history, access was limited to registered researchers, attracting notable visitors including Karl Marx, Oscar Wilde, Mahatma Gandhi, Rudyard Kipling, George Orwell, Mark Twain, Lenin and H.G. Wells. The majority of the collection was moved to the new British Library in 2000; the Reading Room now houses an information center and a curated collection of specialty art and history titles relevant to the collections of the British Museum. The Reading Room has also been known to host long-running temporary exhibitions of its own, such as the 2006 exhibit centered on China's famous Terracotta Army.

4. Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library – New Haven, Connecticut, USA

The Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library holds the distinction of being the largest building in the world that serves the express purpose of preserving rare books and manuscripts, which alone undoubtedly makes it one of the best libraries in the world. The library's impressive holdings celebrate significant authors like Rudyard Kipling, D.H. Lawrence, Sinclair Lewis and Joseph Conrad through its special collections. Beinecke's central shelving area includes glass walls and soft lighting to protect the works from direct light. Accessible to the public as a tourist attraction, the library's exhibition hall displays many of the library's rare works, including one of only 48 copies in existence of a treasured Gutenberg Bible.

5. Vatican Library – Vatican City, Rome, Italy

The Vatican Library, under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, is one of the oldest libraries in the world. Though it was formally established in 1475, its existence in early forms dates back to the origins of the Catholic Church. For nearly 600 years, the library has added to its collection through historic acquisitions, generous bequests and gracious gifts. The Vatican Library currently holds more than 1.1 million books, 75,000 manuscript, and over 8,500 incunabula. Fittingly, the library owns the oldest complete manuscript of the Bible, as well as many other significant works from medieval times.

6. National Library of St. Mark’s – Venice, Italy

Fittingly housed in a Renaissance building in Venice, the National Library of St. Mark's contains one of the most important collections of classical texts in the world. Though its lengthy construction period would not begin until 1537, collecting for the library began as early as 1468 with a gift from Cardinal Bessarion of 250 manuscripts and 750 codices. As of 1603, a law was enacted that required one copy of all books printed in Venice to be housed at the National Library. Today, the collection encompasses more than a million books, over 13,000 manuscripts, 2,883 incunabula and more than 24,000 16th-century works.

7. Boston Public Library – Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Established in 1848, Boston Public Library was the first publicly supported library in the United States and, with its present collection of 22 million items, also the second-largest. The Central Library consists of two buildings — the Johnson Building and the McKim Building — which houses the library's research collection and exhibitions. Built in 1895, McKim contains many beautiful murals, including Edward Abbey's famous scene depicting the legend of the Holy Grail. The main room of the McKim building — Bates Hall — also features a unique coffered ceiling. More than 1.7 million rarities are included in the research collection at McKim, including medieval manuscripts, incunabula, early Shakespeare that includes a First Folio, colonial Boston records and a major Daniel Defoe collection. The collection is also home to the libraries of several notable figures in American history, including John Adams, William Lloyd Garrison and Nathaniel Bowditch.

8. Library of Parliament – Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

The Library of Parliament in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada holds a special distinction on our list, as it is the only library of such prominence that its likeness is printed on the country's currency; it is featured on Canada's $10 bill. The design of this national landmark was inspired by the British Museum Reading Room and includes walls supported by 16 flying buttresses, a vaulted ceiling in the main reading room and white pine paneling with beautifully detailed carvings of flowers, masks and mythical creatures. The collection encompasses more than 600,000 items, which is curated by a dedicated 300-member staff. While access to the facility is generally restricted to Canadian parliamentary business, tours are often made available to the public.

9. New York Public Library – New York, New York, USA

The New York Public Library is awe-inspiring for its scope and breadth. As the third largest library in North America with more than 50 million items in its collection, it encompasses 87 libraries serving 3.5 million people across the state. The Rose Main Reading Room acts as the centerpiece of the library with grand arched windows along its 52-foot walls, also featuring chandeliers and a gilded and painted ceiling. The library acquired America's first Gutenberg Bible and houses collections with a special emphasis on Americana literature and printed materials. Among the most recognizable sites on our list, the library has made multiple appearances in feature films, as a key setting in the film The Day After Tomorrow and as a prominent backdrop in the original Ghostbusters, among others.

10. Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library – Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Affiliated with the University of Toronto, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library houses more rare books than any other collection in Canada. The collection includes unique artifacts like Newton's Principia (1687), Shakespeare's First Folio, the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493) and a Babylonian cuneiform tablet dating to 1789 B.C. Robert S. Kenny — a Communist Party of Canada member — also donated a large part of the collection. In all, the rare book library includes more than 25,000 items with a special focus in labor movements worldwide, though with a particular emphasis on Canada and its history.

11. Seattle Central Library – Seattle, Washington, USA

Unmistakably modern in a beautiful glass and steel design created by architects Rem Koolhaas and Joshua Prince-Ramus, the Seattle Central Library opened in Washington's largest city in 2004. With their contemporary design, the architects aimed to create an inviting open and airy space, challenging the popular perception of libraries as dark and stuffy. The library was built with the capacity to accommodate more than 1.45 million books and mixed media materials. By 2008, the library had finally completed a 10-year "Libraries for All" initiative, which was aimed at expanding library access to a broader range of Washingtonians. It was the most expensive renovation of its kind in history, eventually totaling more than $290 million for the project.

12. Abbey Library of Saint Gall – St. Gallen, Switzerland

The Abbey Library of Saint Gall is the oldest library in Switzerland. The library's founder, Saint Othmar, is also credited with establishing an abbey of the same name in 719, known as one of the oldest monastery libraries in the world. Saint Gall is home to roughly 160,000 volumes, including manuscripts dating back to the eighth century. In 1983, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO named the library a World Heritage site, calling it a "a perfect example of a great Carolingian monastery." The library offers online access to many of its holdings through an electronic database, though as a general rule, pre-1900 books can only be read on-site.

13. Austrian National Library – Vienna, Austria

Much like the Library of Congress in the U.S., the Austrian National Library is responsible for managing the collection of all publications that appear in Austria. Works of special prominence include the world's foremost globe collection, rare books dating from the fourth century, a UNESCO Memory of the World Programme item — the Vienna Dioscurides, a sixth-century illuminated manuscript exploring medicine and healing and a map collection that dates back to the 16th century. Originally housed in the Prunksaal, the library is currently located at Hofburg Palace and the baroque Palais Mollard-Clary, housing 7.4 million items within its comprehensive collection.

14. National Library of Sweden – Stockholm, Sweden

The National Library of Sweden is responsible for preserving all Swedish printed and audiovisual material. Since the 1500s, there has been some form of National Library in Sweden, made possible initially through purchases of collections from Swedish monasteries that were later destroyed in the Reformation and — later still — via war spoils from the Thirty Years’ War. To supplement its holdings, the library obtained the Library of Würzburg and the Royal Library of Prague during the Thirty Years’ War, as well as a 13th-century copy of the "Devil's Bible." Today, Sweden's National Library holds more than 20 million objects.

15. Library of the Benedictine Monastery – Admont, Austria

The Library of the Benedictine Monastery is the largest monastery library in the world. The library holds 70,000 volumes, including 1,400 manuscripts and 900 incunables. Some items in the library's collection were gifted by Archbishop Gebhard, who founded the monastery in 1074. As part of an overall design inspired by the Enlightenment, the ceiling of the library is decorated with seven cupolas, highlighting elaborate frescoes by Bartolomeo Altomonte that display the progression of human knowledge.