Beginning with the first library for the working class in Scotland in 1741 and influenced by increased popular education and the rise of a free press, libraries founded by and for the British working class thrived into the nineteenth century, satisfying reading interests and tastes before the rise of free public libraries.
A number of important changes in Great Britain in the eighteenth century led to a demand for secular literature. These changes included increased provisions for education, the growth of reading publications, and increased interest in reading. The old town and parish libraries could not satisfy the needs created by these changes, so two new kinds of subscription libraries—private and commercial—were developed to provide reading materials for different social classes. Starting with four in Scotland and two in England, the private libraries founded for and by the working class continued to grow during the nineteenth century but gradually gave way to an increasing number of free public libraries.
The library that came into being at Leadhills in Lanarkshire, Scotland, became the first private subscription library and the first library for the working class in Great Britain. The Leadhills Reading Society, as the library was originally called, was founded in 1741 by the lead miners of the Scots Mines Company. Of the twenty-three founding members, all were miners except the minister and the schoolmaster. James Stirling,
During the nineteenth century, tradesmen, mechanics, and artisans founded a number of libraries, the best known being the Edinburgh Mechanics’ Subscription Library, which formed in 1825. The Edinburgh Mechanics’ Institute, originally called the Edinburgh School of Arts, provided vocational instruction for the working class. The subscription library was founded by three members of the school who wished to pursue their studies even when the school was closed in the summer. In England, libraries for mechanics and apprentices were founded at Liverpool (1823), Sheffield (1823), Kendal (1824), and Durham (1851). The Liverpool and Sheffield libraries owed their origins to the editors of the Liverpool Mercury and the Sheffield Independent, respectively. A number of smaller working-class libraries existed, but without a distinguishing title.
The Edinburgh Mechanics’ Subscription Library could be considered the first of a group of libraries associated with the mechanics’ institutes. Started in the 1820’s, the institutes were focused on improving working-class adult education. Social reformers such as Francis Place
Finally, certain factories and firms opened libraries for their workers. One of the best factory libraries was founded for the mill workers at W. & D. Morris factories at Chorlton-on-Medlock in Manchester in 1845. A library was founded in the Fieldhouse Institute by John Bright and Brothers at Rochdale in 1832. Still another one was established at Ipswich in 1856 for the workers of the foundry of Messrs. Ransomes and May. Elizabeth Gaskell’s
Book selection at the working-class libraries reflected the social, political, and cultural influences before and during the nineteenth century, notably the lapse of government censorship
The working-class libraries were not interested in acquiring fiction and serial literature in the beginning of the century. The working people’s enthusiasm for controversial religion was a major motivating factor in deciding which books to acquire. While working-class piety remained, dissident social behavior was nonetheless evident in a society influenced by moderate clergy and the patronage system. Because of the impact of the Enlightenment, the working people were interested more in social science than in vocational reading. Their preference for such socially scientific subjects as history, geography, biography, and politics reflected a change toward secular book use. About 50 percent of reading materials were works on history and religion, followed by biography and travel. The shift toward fiction by the end of the century marked the most notable change in book use and a new level of sophistication in reading.
The Scottish working class was conservative in its literary tendencies, so the libraries most often collected classical literature and were strongly influenced by the newly established Free Church of Scotland and the rising temperance movement
The working-class libraries originally relied on members’ subscription fees for their operations. For this reason, many were small and short-lived. Their success and failure largely depended on favorable circumstances or financial support from outside sources. The Leadhills, Wanlockhead, and Westerkirk libraries were founded in well-paid mining
The development of the working-class libraries reflected a time of increasing popular education and increasing interest in book use. The libraries also helped educate the working classes in their demand for political and social reform. Side by side with the private libraries for the middle class and the clergy, the working-class libraries satisfied the growing needs for cheap and wholesome reading materials, which the government failed to provide. Finally, the working-class libraries in Scotland encouraged their patrons to participate in intellectual life and supported the rejection of a separate intellectual class.
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Battles, Matthew. Library: An Unquiet History. New York: W. W. Norton, 2003. A history of libraries as well as the forces in history that try to destroy information and communication. -
Crawford, John. “The Ideology of Mutual Improvement in Scottish Working Class Libraries.” Library History 12, no. 1 (1996): 49-62. Contends that the Enlightenment and the idea of mutual improvement were at the core of the establishment of the Leadhills library. -
Harris, Michael H. History of Libraries in the Western World. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1995. A general survey of library history, originally published in 1984. -
Lerner, Fred. The Story of Libraries: From the Invention of Writing to the Computer Age. New York: Continuum, 1998. Explains how major societies used libraries and discusses how these societies were affected by the libraries they created and inherited. -
Rose, Jonathan. “A Conservative Canon: Cultural Lag in British Working-Class Reading Habits.” Library and Culture 33, no. 1 (1998): 98-104. Explores the conservative literary tastes of the working people compared to the more avant-garde preference found among the middle classes. -
Vincent, David. The Rise of Mass Literacy. Cambridge, England: Polity, 2000. Vincent examines how eighteenth century ideas about literacy and reading were practiced well into the nineteenth century.
Free Public School Movement
Social Reform Movement
British Parliament Passes the Reform Act of 1832
American Library Association Is Founded
William Edward Forster; Francis Place.