Editing Public library (section)

====United States====
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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.

[[Public libraries in North America]] developed from the 18th century to today; as the country grew more populous and wealthier, factors such as a push for education and desire to [[Sharing|share]] knowledge led to broad public support for free libraries. In addition, money donations by private philanthropists provided the seed capital to get many libraries started. In some instances, collectors donated large book collections.<ref>Jesse Hauk Shera, ''Foundations of the public library;: The origins of the public library movement in New England, 1629–1885'' (1965)</ref>

[[File:Illustration of Redwood Library and Athenaeum in 1768.jpg|thumb|Illustration of Redwood Library and Athenaeum in 1768]]
The first public lending library still in operation in the US is the [[Franklin_Public_Library_(Massachusetts)|Franklin Public Library]] which began with no building and just over 100 books donated by [[Benjamin Franklin]] after they named their town after him. The first modern public library in the world supported by taxes was the Peterborough Town Library in [[Peterborough, New Hampshire]]. It was "established in 1833".<ref>{{cite web|title=History and Renovation of the Peterborough Town Library|url=https://peterboroughtownlibrary.org/history-and-renovation-9330/location/peterborough|website=Peterborough Town Library|access-date=16 November 2022}}</ref> The first large public library supported by taxes in the [[United States]] was the [[Boston Public Library]], which was established in 1848 but did not open its doors to the public until 1854.<ref>{{cite web|title=Boston Public Library A Brief History and Description|url=http://www.bpl.org/general/history.htm|website=Boston Public Library|access-date=26 October 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626114123/http://www.bpl.org/general/history.htm|archive-date=26 June 2014}}</ref>

The Redwood Library and Athenaeum was founded in 1747 by a group led by Abraham Redwood.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.redwoodlibrary.org|title=Home|access-date=15 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527094742/http://www.redwoodlibrary.org/|archive-date=27 May 2016}}</ref> It was the first library in Rhode Island and the oldest lending library in America. Over half of its volumes were lost when it was used as the British Officers Club during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]. An effort was made to replace the original collection. Over 90% of the volumes lost were returned. The library is still in use.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.redwoodlibrary.org/history|title=History|access-date=15 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423010514/http://www.redwoodlibrary.org/history|archive-date=23 April 2016}}</ref>

A total of 1,689 [[Carnegie library|Carnegie libraries]] were built in the United States between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to universities. By 1930, half the American public libraries had been built by Carnegie.<ref>{{cite book | last = Jones | first = Theodore | title = Carnegie Libraries across America | publisher = Preservation Press | location = Washington | year = 1997 | isbn = 978-0-471-14422-9 }}</ref>

Federal library legislation supporting public libraries has been a focus of the American Library Association, Washington Office. <ref>Molumby, Lawrence E. (1996).  "[https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/ppa ALA Washington Office: A Chronology of its First Fifty Years.]"American Library Association.</ref>

Democracy within the life of libraries in the 20th and 21st century has been explored in the essay, "Libraries, Democracy, and
Citizenship: Twenty Years after 9/11."<ref>Buschman, John. (2023) "Libraries, Democracy, and Citizenship: Twenty Years after 9/11." ''Library Quarterly.''93 (April):182-201.</ref>