Subscription Library

August 15

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

What was advertised in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago today?

New York Packet (August 15, 1776).

“SAMUEL LOUDON’s CIRCULATING LIBRARY.”

Like other early American printers, Samuel Loudon cultivated multiple revenue streams.  He sold subscription to the New York Packet and collected fees for the advertisements in that newspaper.  In addition, he sold a variety of books, pamphlets, and almanacs, only some of them produced in his printing office, as well as stationery and writing supplies.  Loudon also operated a circulating library, a venture that only a few printers and booksellers incorporated into their portfolios.  Clubs or corporations formed for the purpose of operating libraries oversaw most of those institutions established before and during the era of the American Revolution.

Loudon promoted his circulating library “CONSISTING of Two Thousand Vols. [of] well chosen books” in the August 15, 1776, edition of the New York Packet.  Unlike modern public libraries that allow access to books and other materials for free, circulating libraries charged subscription fees to readers.  Loudon offered discounts for those who subscribed for longer periods.  A three-month subscription cost eight shillings while a six-month subscription cost twelve shillings.  Subscribers gained access for an entire year for twenty shillings, a significant savings over purchasing consecutive subscriptions for shorter periods.  Rather than completely exclude readers who did not purchase subscriptions, Loudon allowed “occasional readers” to borrow books upon paying a fee of “one penny for each shilling the book they read is valued at.”  Readers interested in a particular title could peruse it for a lower price without having to make a larger investment in a subscription.

Loudon established some interesting guidelines for how long subscribers could borrow books, making the determination based on the sizes of the sheets (not to be confused with the length of the book).  “The time allowed for reading a folio,” he explained, “is four weeks,” but only two weeks for a quarto and just one week for “an octavo and under.”  Subscribers (and occasional readers) who kept their books longer had “to pay one penny a day for an octavo, and in proportion for larger volumes.”  Whatever the quirks of this system, it meant that readers could not hoard titles and make them unavailable to other subscriber, at least not without paying penalties for doing so.  In addition, borrowers had to pay for books that were “lost or abused.”

“SAMUEL LOUDON’s CIRCULATING LIBRARY” gave residents of New York access to thousands of books without having to purchase them, making them more accessible to many readers.  Loudon operated the library as a public service while simultaneously generating revenue to supplement his other ventures as a printer and bookseller.

November 26

Carl Robert Keyes Uncategorized , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Providence Gazette (November 26, 1774).

“Names of those Gentlemen who are now indebted to the Library Company should be inserted … in the Providence Gazette.”

The Providence Library Company, a private subscription library, conducted some of its business in the public prints in the eighteenth century.  Early in the fall of 1774, Theodore Foster, the librarian, ran an advertisement in the Providence Gazette, requesting that “All Persons … who have any Books belonging to the Library … return the same immediately” so they could be “examined and numbered.”  In addition to conducting an inventory of the collection, the librarian was “ready to settle with the delinquent Proprietors” who had not paid their subscriptions.

At the end of November, Foster published a new advertisement in the wake of a vote at a recent “Meeting of the Proprietors.”  They had decided that “the Names of those Gentlemen who are now indebted to the Library Company should we inserted three Weeks successively in the Providence Gazette, with the Sums respectively due from each.”  That list consisted of more than two dozen subscribers, most of them with debts going back more than a decade.  The proprietors in good standing determined that the grace period had extended long enough.  Accordingly, the advertisement also informed the delinquent subscribers that if they did not make payment before December 3 then “their Rights should be sold by the Treasurer” at a public auction on December 10.  They took that action “agreeable to the printed and established Rules of the Library.”  The advertisement first ran on November 19 and again on November 26.  It made its final appearance on December 3, the deadline for settling accounts.  Perhaps Foster offered a little more leeway, provided subscribers paid before the auction on December 10, but the advertisement made clear that overdue subscriptions would be addressed, one way or another, “By Order of the Proprietors.”  Their next meeting was scheduled for the day of the auction, an opportunity to assess the outcome of their efforts to get everything in good order.

As was often the case, advertisements like this one relayed local news to the readers of the Providence Gazette.  John Carter, the printer, selected which news and editorials to publish elsewhere in the newspaper, yet purchasing advertising space gave individuals and organizations opportunities to become editors who decided on some of the information presented to the public.

October 8

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Providence Gazette (October 8, 1774).

“The whole Library may be got together, examined and numbered, as soon as possible.”

Advertisements published in the Providence Gazette reveal some of the work undertaken in administering the Providence Library Company.  In 1753, prominent residents founded this subscription library, believing that “a Collection or Library of Usefull and Edifying Books will most certainly tend to the Benefit and Instruction of the Inhabitants of this Town and County of Providence and the Rising Generation thereto belonging.”  Two decades later, Theodore Foster held the post of librarian.  He took to the pages of the Providence Gazette to address “all the Proprietors” as well as “All Persons, whether Proprietors or not, who have any Books belonging to the Library.”  Foster instructed all of them to return their books “immediately.”

The librarian apparently intended to conduct an inventory of the collection.  He informed the public that “No Books will be delivered out before the next Meeting, but the Librarian will attend at the Library next Saturday, as usual, to receive in the Books.”  Furthermore, he sought to enlist the aid of others in successfully pursuing this project: “All who know of any Books in the Possession of those who are not Proprietors, are desired to inform the Librarian thereof.”  Foster intended to be complete and comprehensive, working with a committee tasked with “examin[ing] and number[ing]” the “whole Library … as soon as possible.”  Gathering the entire collection together was more important than assessing fines for overdue books or investigating where any of the books had been.  “All Fines shall be given up,” Foster declared, “and no Questions asked respecting any of the Books, if they are returned to the Librarian before the next Meeting.”  As an aside, Foster noted that he “is ready to settle with delinquent Proprietors” who had not paid their subscription fees.

The Providence Library Company had compiled and published a Catalogue of All the Books Belonging to the Providence Library as well as Rules for Governing the Proprietors of, and Institutions for Rendering Useful the Books Belonging to the Providence Library in 1768.  The Rules, adopted in 1762, outlined the procedures for borrowing books and the duties of the librarian.  They also specified that that a “Catalogue of all the books belonging to the Library be fairly written in the Register, in alphabetical order, … care being taken to leave Room under each Letter for inserting such Books, as may hereafter be purchased.”  Despite those best intentions, the librarian and the proprietors apparently considered a careful and complete inventory necessary to assess the status of the library’s holdings.  Beyond the annual meeting for the proprietors, Foster resorted to a newspaper advertisement to reach anyone who had information about any books belonging to the library.

September 2

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Sep 2 - 9:2:1769 Providence Gazette
Providence Gazette (September 2, 1769).

“The PROPRIETORS of the Providence LIBRARY are hereby notified to meet.”

David S. Rowland was elected and served as librarian for the Providence Library Company (founded 1753) in the late 1760s and early 1770s. Late in the summer of 1769, he placed advertisements in the Providence Gazette to notify “PROPRIETORS of the Providence LIBRARY” of a meeting scheduled for September 4. He also published an outline of the agenda. The proprietors would gather “to concert Measures for the necessary Repairs of said Library, and to conclude whether or not Provision shall be made for the annual Enlargement of the Library, and transact other Affairs relative to its Wellbeing.”

All of this business was to be undertaken by the proprietors for the benefit of members of the Providence Library Company. The “Providence LIBRARY” was not open to the general public; instead members paid annual subscriptions for the privilege of using the library. Those subscriptions paid for the “Repairs,” “Enlargement” of the collection of books, and “other Affairs” that Rowland mentioned in his advertisement. The Providence Library Company was not alone in adopting this model for its operations. Indeed, this was standard practice for early American libraries, including the Library Company of Philadelphia (1731), the Company of the Redwood Library (Newport, 1747), the Charleston Library Society (1748), and the New York Society Library (1754).

The annual fees distinguished these subscription libraries, as they are known, from modern public libraries that open their doors to all users free of charge. Subscription libraries were not supported by the local municipalities for the benefit of all colonists, but rather by associations of readers and members who saw to their affairs and gained access only after pledging financial support. Many subscription libraries founded in the colonial era continue to operate today as research libraries patronized by scholars and others interested in early American history and culture. The Providence Library Company continues as the Providence Athenæum, incorporated in 1836. The new Providence Athenæum acquired the collections of both the Providence Library Company and an earlier Providence Athenæum (1831).