Editing Public library (section)

====United Kingdom====
[[File:James Silk Buckingham by Clara S. Lane.jpg|thumb|[[James Silk Buckingham]] led the campaign for public libraries in the mid-19th century.]]

In 1835, and against government opposition, [[James Silk Buckingham]], MP for Sheffield and a supporter of the [[temperance movement]], was able to secure the Chair of the [[Select committee (United Kingdom)|select committee]] which would examine "the extent, causes, and consequences of the prevailing vice of intoxication among the labouring classes of the United Kingdom" and propose solutions. [[Francis Place]], a campaigner for the working class, agreed that "the establishment of parish libraries and district reading rooms, and popular lectures on subjects both entertaining and instructive to the community might draw off a number of those who now frequent public houses for the sole enjoyment they afford".<ref>Select Committee on inquiry into drunkenness, ''Report'' (1834)</ref> Buckingham introduced to Parliament a Public Institution Bill allowing boroughs to charge a tax to set up libraries and museums, the first of its kind. Although this did not become law, it had a major influence on [[William Ewart (English politician)|William Ewart]] MP and [[Joseph Brotherton]] MP, who introduced a bill which would "[empower] boroughs with a population of 10,000 or more to raise a ½d for the establishment of museums".<ref>Kelly & Kelly (1977), p. 77</ref> This became the [[Museums Act 1845]].

The advocacy of Ewart and Brotherton then succeeded in having a select committee set up to consider public library provision. The Report argued that the provision of public libraries would steer people towards temperate and moderate habits. With a view to maximising the potential of current facilities, the committee made two significant recommendations. They suggested that the government should issue grants to aid the foundation of libraries and that the Museums Act 1845 should be amended and extended to allow for a tax to be levied for the establishment of public libraries.<ref>Minto (1932) chapters 3-4</ref><ref>Murison (1971) chapter 2</ref>

Objections were raised about the increase in [[taxation]], the potential infringement on private enterprise and the existing library provision such as [[mechanics' institutes]] and the fear that it would give rise to "unhealthy social agitation".<ref>Hansard (1850) Col. 848</ref> The bill passed through [[Parliament]] as most MPs felt that public libraries would provide facilities for self-improvement through books and reading for all classes, and that the greater levels of education attained by providing public libraries would result in lower [[crime rate]]s.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Under the terms of the [[Museums Act 1845]], the municipalities of [[Warrington]] and [[Salford, Greater Manchester|Salford]] established libraries in their museums. Warrington Municipal Library opened in 1848.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Although by the mid-19th century, England could claim 274 [[subscription library|subscription libraries]] and Scotland, 266, the foundation of the modern public library system in Britain is the [[Public Libraries Act 1850]]. The act first gave local [[municipal borough|boroughs]] 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 [[Chartism|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.<ref>McMenemy (2009), pp. 24-26</ref> Campaigners felt that encouraging the lower classes to spend their free time on morally uplifting activities, such as reading, would promote greater social good.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Llibrary.htm|title=History of the Public Libraries Act|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316170538/http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Llibrary.htm|archive-date=16 March 2014}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=October 2021}}

[[File:Kingswood Library.jpg|thumb|A modern library in the United Kingdom, located on [[Kingswood Estate]], [[London Borough of Southwark|Southwark]], 2025]]

[[Salford Museum and Art Gallery]] first opened in November 1850 as "The Royal Museum & Public Library", as the first unconditionally free public library in England.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ewm/001ewm/024_sal_mayor/index.html |publisher=Manchesteronline |title=Eye witness in Manchester |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513165303/http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ewm/001ewm/024_sal_mayor/index.html |archive-date=13 May 2008 }} Retrieved on 5 September 2008</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitsalford.info/whattosee/heritage/industrialheritage/industrialheritage1st.htm|publisher=visitsalford.info|title=1st In Salford|access-date=19 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107050723/http://www.visitsalford.info/whattosee/heritage/industrialheritage/industrialheritage1st.htm|archive-date=7 January 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> The library in [[Castlefield|Campfield]], [[Manchester]] was the first library to operate a "free" lending library without subscription in 1852.<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2238494.stm | work=BBC News | title=Anniversary of first public library | date=5 September 2002 | access-date=14 April 2010 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040620130317/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2238494.stm | archive-date=20 June 2004 }}</ref> [[Norwich]] lays claim to being the first municipality to adopt the Public Libraries Act 1850 (which allowed any municipal borough with a population of 100,000 or more to introduce a halfpenny rate to establish public libraries—although not to buy books). Norwich was the eleventh library to open, in 1857, after [[Winchester]], [[Manchester]], [[Liverpool]], [[Bolton]], [[Kidderminster]], [[Cambridge]], [[Birkenhead]] and [[Sheffield]].

The Public Libraries Act 1850 was noteworthy because it established the principle of free public libraries. In 1866, an amending act, the [[Public Libraries Amendment Act 1866]] ([[29 & 30 Vict.]] c. 114) was passed<ref>Public Libraries Amendment Act, 29 & 30 Vict. c. 114</ref> which eliminated the population limit for the establishment of a library and replaced the two-thirds majority previously required for adoption with a simple majority. It also allowed neighbouring parishes to combine with an existing or potential library authority. Despite the rise in the level of tax public libraries could levy, it was still very difficult for boroughs to raise enough capital to fund new libraries. The growth of the public library movement in the wake of the 1850 act relied heavily on the donations of philanthropists.<ref>Kelly (1973), pp. 107-137</ref>

County libraries were a later development, which were made possible by the establishment of county councils in 1888. They normally have a large central library in a major town with smaller branch libraries in other towns and a mobile library service covering rural areas.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

The [[Public Libraries Act 1964]] required local authorities to provide a "comprehensive and efficient" library service. <ref>Marwick, A. (1982). ''British society since 1945,''p.140. Harmondsworth: Penguin</ref> Public libraries built in the 1960s were characterized by modernism. <ref>Black, Alistair. 2011. "‘New Beauties’: The Design of British Public Library Buildings in the 1960s". ''Library Trends'' 60 (1): 71–111. doi:10.1353/lib.2011.0033.</ref>