Public library

Biblioteca Palafoxiana in Puebla City, Mexico, is recognized by the UNESCO for being the first public library in the Americas.[12][13][14] Founded in 1646 by Juan de Palafox y Mendoza

Claude Sallier, the French philologist and churchman, operated an early form of public library in the town of Saulieu from 1737 to 1750. He wished to make culture and learning accessible to all people.

The Załuski Library (Polish: Biblioteka Załuskich, Latin: Bibliotheca Zalusciana) was built in Warsaw 1747–1795 by Józef Andrzej Załuski and his brother, Andrzej Stanisław Załuski, both Roman Catholic bishops. The library was open to the public and indeed was the first Polish public library, the biggest in Poland and one of the earliest public libraries in Europe.[15]

At the start of the 18th century, libraries were becoming increasingly public and were more frequently lending libraries. The 18th century saw the switch from closed parochial libraries to lending libraries. Before this time, public libraries were parochial in nature and libraries frequently chained their books to desks.[16] Libraries also were not uniformly open to the public. In 1790, The Public Library Act would not be passed for another sixty-seven years.[17]

The British Museum was established in 1751 and had a library containing over 50,000 books.

Even though the British Museum existed at this time and contained over 50,000 books, the national library was not open to the public, or even to a majority of the population. Access to the Museum depended on passes, for which there was sometimes a waiting period of three to four weeks. Moreover, the library was not open to browsing. Once a pass to the library had been issued, the reader was taken on a tour of the library. Many readers complained that the tour was much too short.[18] Similarly, the Bibliothèque du Roi in Paris required a potential visitor to be “carefully screened” and, even after this stipulation was met, the library was open only two days per week and only to view medallions and engravings, not books.[19]

However, up until the mid 19th century, there were virtually no public libraries in the sense in which we now understand the term, i.e. libraries provided from public funds and freely accessible to all.[20] Only one important library in Britain, namely Chetham's Library in Manchester, was fully and freely accessible to the public.[20] In Germany, there was another occurrence of an accessible public library. The Ducal Library at Wolfenbüttel was open “every weekday morning and afternoon” and loaned its books to the public. Between 1714 and 1799, the library loaned 31,485 books to 1,648 different users.[19] These types of public libraries, much closer to the present-day concept of the public library, were extremely rare as most libraries remained difficult to access.

In A.D 1820 the State Central Library, Kerala started functioning in Trivandrum, India which is not only India's first public library but also the first such institution outside of Europe. However, there had come into being a whole network of library provision on a private or institutional basis. Subscription libraries, both private and commercial, provided the middle to upper classes with a variety of books for moderate fees.

The increase in secular literature at this time encouraged the spread of lending libraries, especially the commercial subscription libraries. Commercial subscription libraries began when booksellers began renting out extra copies of books in the mid-18th century. Steven Fischer estimates that in 1790, there were "about six hundred rental and lending libraries, with a clientele of some fifty thousand".[21] The mid- to late 18th century saw a virtual epidemic of feminine reading as novels became more and more popular.[22] Novels, while frowned upon in society, were extremely popular. In England there were many who lamented at the "villanous profane and obscene books" and the opposition to the circulating library, on moral grounds, persisted well into the 19th century.[23] Still, many establishments must have circulated many times the number of novels as of any other genre.[24]

In 1797, Thomas Wilson wrote in The Use of Circulating Libraries: "Consider, that for a successful circulating library, the collection must contain 70% fiction". However, the overall percentage of novels mainly depended on the proprietor of the circulating library. While some circulating libraries were almost completely novels, others had less than 10% of their overall collection in the form of novels.[25] The national average start of the 20th century hovered around novels comprising about 20% of the total collection.[26] Novels varied from other types of books in many ways. They were read primarily for enjoyment instead of for study. They did not provide academic knowledge or spiritual guidance; thus they were read quickly and far fewer times than other books. These were the perfect books for commercial subscription libraries to lend. Since books were read for pure enjoyment rather than for scholarly work, books needed to become both cheaper and smaller. Small duodecimo editions of books were preferred to the large folio editions. Folio editions were read at a desk, while the small duodecimo editions could be easily read like the paperbacks of today. The French journalist, Louis-Sébastien Mercier wrote that the books were also separated into parts so that readers could rent a section of the book for some hours instead of a full day.[19] This allowed more readers could have access to the same work at the same time, making it more profitable for the circulating libraries.

Much like paperbacks of today, many of the novels in circulating libraries were unbound. At this period of time, many people chose to bind their books in leather. Many circulating libraries skipped this process. Circulating libraries were not in the business of preserving books; their owners wanted to lend books as many times as they possibly could. Circulating libraries had ushered in a completely new way of reading. Reading was no longer simply an academic pursuit or an attempt to gain spiritual guidance. Reading became a social activity. Many circulating libraries were attached to the shops of milliners or drapers. They served as much for social gossip and the meeting of friends as coffee shops do today.[27]

Biblioteka Załuskich, built in Warsaw in the mid-18th century

Another factor in the growth of subscription libraries was the increasing cost of books. In the last two decades of the century, especially, prices were practically doubled, so that a quarto work cost a guinea, an octavo 10 shillings or 12 shillings, and a duodecimo cost 4 shillings per volume. Price apart, moreover, books were difficult to procure outside London, since local booksellers could not afford to carry large stocks.[28] Commercial libraries, since they were usually associated with booksellers, and also since they had a greater number of patrons, were able to accumulate greater numbers of books. The United Public Library was said to have a collection of some 52,000 volumes-–twice as many as any private-subscription library in the country at that period.[29] These libraries, since they functioned as a business, also lent books to non-subscribers on a per-book system.[30]

Despite the existence of these subscription libraries, they were only accessible to those who could afford the fees and to those with time to read during the daylight. As stated by James Van Horn Melton, “one should not overstate the extent to which lending libraries ‘democratized’ reading” since “they were probably less important for creating new readers than for enabling those who already read to read more." For many people, these libraries, though more accessible than libraries such as the British Library, were still largely an institution for the middle and upper-classes.[19]

The Linen Hall Library was an 18th-century subscription library. Pictured in 1888, shortly before its demolition.

Private-subscription libraries functioned in much the same manner as commercial subscription libraries, though they varied in many important ways. One of the most popular versions of the private-subscription library was the "gentlemen only" library. The gentlemen's subscription libraries, sometimes known as proprietary libraries, were nearly all organized on a common pattern. Membership was restricted to the proprietors or shareholders, and ranged from a dozen or two to between four and five hundred. The entrance fee, i.e. the purchase price of a share, was in early days usually a guinea, but rose sharply as the century advanced, often reaching four or five guineas during the French wars; the annual subscription, during the same period, rose from about six shillings to ten shillings or more. The book-stock was, by modern standards, small (Liverpool, with over 8,000 volumes in 1801, seems to have been the largest), and was accommodated, at the outset, in makeshift premises–-very often over a bookshop, with the bookseller acting as librarian and receiving an honorarium for his pains.[31]

The Liverpool Subscription library was a gentlemen only library. In 1798, it was renamed the Athenaeum when it was rebuilt with a newsroom and coffeehouse. It had an entrance fee of one guinea and annual subscription of five shillings.[32] An analysis of the registers for the first twelve years provides glimpses of middle-class reading habits in a mercantile community at this period. The largest and most popular sections of the library were History, Antiquities, and Geography, with 283 titles and 6,121 borrowings, and Belles Lettres, with 238 titles and 3,313 borrowings.[33] The most popular single work was John Hawkesworth's Account of Voyages ... in the Southern Hemisphere (3 vols) which was borrowed on 201 occasions. The records also show that in 1796, membership had risen by 1/3 to 198 subscribers (of whom 5 were women) and the titles increased five-fold to 4,987. This mirrors the increase in reading interests. A patron list from the Bath Municipal Library shows that from 1793 to 1799, the library held a stable 30% of their patrons as female.[34]

It was also uncommon for these libraries to have buildings designated solely as the library building during the 1790s, though in the 19th century, many libraries would begin building elaborate permanent residences. Bristol, Birmingham, and Liverpool were the few libraries with their own building.[35] The accommodations varied from the shelf for a few dozen volumes in the country stationer's or draper's shop, to the expansion to a back room, to the spacious elegant areas of Hookham's or those at the resorts like Scarborough, and four in a row at Margate.[36]

Private-subscription libraries held a greater amount of control over both membership and the types of books in the library. There was almost a complete elimination of cheap fiction in the private societies.[37] Subscription libraries prided themselves on respectability. The highest percentage of subscribers were often landed proprietors, gentry, and old professions.[38]

Towards the end of the 18th century and in the first decades of the 19th century, the demand for books and general education made itself felt among social classes generated by the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution.[39] The late-18th century saw a rise in subscription libraries intended for the use of tradesmen. In 1797, there was established at Kendal what was known as the Economical Library, "designed principally for the use and instruction of the working classes."[40] There was also the Artizans' library established at Birmingham in 1799. The entrance fee was 3 shillings, and the subscription was 1 shilling 6 pence per quarter. This was a library of general literature. Novels, at first excluded, were afterwards admitted on condition that they did not account for more than one-tenth of the annual income.[31]

James Silk Buckingham led the campaign for public libraries in the mid-19th century.

Under the terms of the Museums Act of 1845, the municipalities of Warrington and Salford established libraries in their museums. Warrington Municipal Library opened in 1848.

Although by the mid-19th century, England could claim 274 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 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 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.[41] Campaigners felt that encouraging the lower classes to spend their free time on morally uplifting activities, such as reading, would promote greater social good.[42]

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 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".[43] 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 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".[44] 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.[45][46]

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".[47] 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 rates.

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.[48][49] The library in Campfield, Manchester was the first library to operate a free lending library without subscription in 1852.[50] 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 1850 Act was noteworthy because it established the principle of free public libraries. In 1866, an amending Act was passed[51] which eliminated entirely 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.[52]

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.

Japanese public libraries greatly expanded in the 1950s with the Library Law;[53] this is a Japanese library in Gonohe, Aomori, a rural town of the Tohoku Region in Aomori, Japan

Andrew Carnegie played an important role in financing public libraries across the English-speaking world.

The Halifax Central Library, a modern public library

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 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.[54]

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."[55] This was a small public library. 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.[56]

The Redwood Library and Athenaeum was founded in 1747 by a group led by Abraham Redwood.[57] 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 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.[58]

A total of 1,689 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.[59]

The first public library in Australia was the Melbourne Public Library (now the State Library of Victoria), which opened in 1856, just a few years after their introduction into Britain. This was however purely a reference library. In September 1869, the New South Wales (NSW) government opened as the Free Public Library, Sydney (now the State Library of New South Wales) by purchasing a bankrupt subscription library. In 1896, the Brisbane Public Library was established. The Library's collection, purchased by the Queensland Government from the private collection of Justice Harding. In 1935 the Free Library Movement was established in New South Wales advocating for free public libraries to be supported by municipal authorities.[60] A similar movement was established in Victoria within a couple of years.[61]

Eugène Morel, a writer and one of the librarians at the Bibliothèque nationale, pioneered modern public libraries in France. He put forward his ideas in the 1910 book La Librairie publique.[62][63]

A municipal library in Prague

The main task of public libraries is to provide the public with access to books and periodicals. The American Library Association (ALA), addresses this role of libraries as part of "access to information"[64] and "equity of access";[65] part of the profession's ethical commitment that "no one should be denied information because he or she cannot afford the cost of a book or periodical, have access to the internet or information in any of its various formats."[66]

Libraries typically offer access to thousands, tens of thousands, or even millions of books, the majority of which are available for borrowing by anyone with the appropriate library card. A library's selection of books is called its collection, and usually includes a range of popular fiction, classics, nonfiction and reference works, books of public interest or under public discussion, and subscriptions to popular newspapers and magazines. Most libraries offer quiet space for reading, known as reading rooms. Borrowers may also take books home, as long as they return them at a certain time and in good condition. If a borrowed book is returned late, the library may charge a small library fine, though some libraries have eliminated fines in recent years. About two-thirds of libraries now provide access to e-books and digital or digitized periodicals as well as printed books.[67] Many libraries offer assistance to borrowers, to select books, through specialist Readers' Advisory Services librarians.[68]

Bates Hall, the main reading room of the Boston Public Library

Public libraries also provide books and other materials for children. These items are often housed in a special section known as a children's library and attended to by a specialized children's librarian. Child oriented websites with on-line educational games and programs specifically designed for younger library users are becoming increasingly popular. Services may be provided for other groups, such as large print or Braille materials, Books on tape, young adult literature and other materials for teenagers, or materials in other than the national language (in foreign languages).[69]

Libraries also lend books to each other, a practice known as interlibrary loan. Interlibrary loan allows libraries to provide patrons access to the collections of other libraries, especially rare, infrequently used, specialized and/or out-of-print books. Libraries within the same system, such as a county system, may lend their books to each other, or libraries in different states may even use an interlibrary loan system.

The selection, purchase and cataloging of books for a collection; the care, repair, and weeding of books; the organization of books in the library; readers' advisory; and the management of membership, borrowing and lending are typical tasks for a public librarian, an information professional with graduate-level education or experience in library and information science.[70]

Wolfsburg Municipal Library by Alvar Aalto

In the United States, libraries are responsible for supporting the First Amendment and how it relates to their facilities through policies such as the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights. The right to freedom of speech and information is significant to public libraries; one way of upholding this doctrine is to protect the privacy of all patrons that belong to a library. The concept of confidentiality is important because the First Amendment may be violated if a patron's information could possibly be shared. Patrons may not feel free to check out certain materials for fear it would later be revealed. Members of society need to be reassured that even if they borrow controversial or embarrassing materials, their privacy will be upheld.[71]

Some libraries require staff to talk about confidentiality or direct the patron to literature on the subject when creating a new library card for patrons.[72]

Fort Worth Central Library Computer Lab

Part of the public library mission has become attempting to help bridge the digital divide. As more books, information resources, and government services are being provided online (see e-commerce and e-government), public libraries increasingly provide access to the Internet and public computers for users who otherwise would not be able to connect to these services. They can also provide community spaces to encourage the general population to improve their digital skills through Library Coding Clubs[73] and Library makerspace. Almost all public libraries now house a computer lab.[74] Internationally, public libraries offer information and communication technology (ICT) services, giving "access to information and knowledge" the "highest priority".[75] While different countries and areas of the world have their own requirements, general services offered include free connection to the Internet, training in using the Internet, and relevant content in appropriate languages. In addition to typical public library financing, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and business fund services that assist public libraries in combating the digital divide.[76]

In addition to access, many public libraries offer training and support to computer users. Once access has been achieved, there remains a large gap in people's online abilities and skills. For many communities, the public library is the only agency offering free computer classes, information technology learning and an affordable, interactive way to build digital skills. As of 2012, 91% of libraries offer free wireless Internet to their patrons; 76% offer e-books for borrowing; and 90% offer formal or informal technology training.[67] A significant service provided by public libraries is assisting people with e-government access and use of federal, state and local government information, forms and services.

In 2006, 73% percent of library branches reported that they are the only local provider of free public computer and Internet access.[77] A 2008 study found that "100 percent of rural, high poverty outlets provide public Internet access.[78] Access to computers and the Internet is now nearly as important to library patrons as access to books.[79]

Wikipedia edit-a-thon on 9 December 2017 at BLI:B, public library Forest, at avenue Van Volxem 364 in 1190 Brussels (Forest)

Wikipedia edit-a-thon on 9 December 2017 at BLI:B, public library Forest, at avenue Van Volxem 364 in 1190 Brussels (Forest)

Public libraries have a long history of functioning as community centers or public spaces for reading, study and formal and informal public meetings. In 1898, Andrew Carnegie, a prominent library philanthropist, built a library in Homestead, Pennsylvania, where his main steel mills were located. Besides a book collection, it included a bowling alley, an indoor swimming pool, basketball courts and other athletic facilities, a music hall, and numerous meeting rooms for local organizations. It sponsored highly successful semi-pro football and baseball teams.[80] Even before the development of the modern public library, subscription libraries were often used as clubs or gathering places. They served as much for social gossip and the meeting of friends, as coffee shops do today.[81] Throughout history, public libraries were touted as alternatives to dance halls or gentleman's clubs, and frequently built, organized and supported because of their equalizing and civilizing influence.

Today, in-person and on-line programs for reader development, language learning, homework help, free lectures and cultural performances, and other community service programs are common offerings. The library storytime, in which books are read aloud to children and infants, is a cultural touchstone. Most public libraries offer frequent storytimes, often daily or even several times a day for different age groups. Some libraries have begun offering sensory storytimes for children and adults on the autism spectrum. Sensory storytimes give patrons "more ways to process information", especially considering people on the autism spectrum are concrete thinkers and/or might have sensory issues to fluorescent lightning or ambient noise other patrons might not notice.[82]

One of the most popular programs offered in public libraries is "summer reading" for children, families, and adults. Summer reading usually includes a list of books to read during summer holidays, as well as performances, book discussions or other celebrations of reading, culture and the humanities. Many libraries offer classes to the community such as tech clinics where patrons can bring in laptops and electronic devices and receive one on one attention in solving their problems and learning how to use them.

Libraries may also offer free or inexpensive meeting space for community organizations and educational and entrepreneurial activity. The addition of makerspaces in libraries, beginning with the Fayetteville Free Library in 2011, offers the potential for new roles for public spaces and public libraries.[83] Attendance at library programs increased by 22% between 2004 and 2008.[84]

While in the past libraries were merely buildings to house their collections, most now utilize their space to offer programs or clubs regularly. Although some libraries will have similar programs with different names, such as book club, writing club or computer programs, most programs will differ based on the specific library and the community they serve. New studies have shown that librarians must research what their specific community needs, “because communities differ, however, the ways libraries implement these services differ as well. The [example of service response] offered at one library may vary significantly from [the same example] offered by another library. The differences are perfectly appropriate if they result from a tailoring of services to address local needs.”[85] Websites like Pinterest have numerous ideas for creating programs for local patrons, while the website Instructables has DIY tutorials, complete with pictures, which is helpful for libraries on a budget. "Programs in the humanities and the arts that encourage people to think and talk about ethics and values, history, art, poetry, and other cultures are integral to the library’s mission."[86]

The New York Public Library offers over 93,000 programs to its patrons every year at its 87 different branches. Adult programs include Excel classes, writing club, adult coloring club, chess club, knitting club, and a jewelry making class.[87]

The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library has an adult coloring club, a crochet/knitting/sewing club, a gardening club, a bead and string class, and a bilingual computer class.[88]

The Tampa–Hillsborough County Public Library System has 31 branches that offer the usual book clubs and writing clubs for adults. However, they also offer an early morning walking club, chair yoga classes, beginning computer classes, genealogy classes, walk-in tech help, and a coffee and French talk class.[89]

The Orange County Library System offers numerous teen activities such as a Maker/DIY program, Audio Equipment Training, Sewing classes, Knitting classes, ESL classes, and Chess club.[90]

The Springfield Greene County Library has writing and book clubs as well as a tech training class, board game nights, movie nights, craft classes, and a My Little Pony club.[91]

The Pikes Peak Library District has math tutors for their teen patrons. They also offer writing and book clubs, a Dungeons and Dragons club, a coding lab, an anime club, guided meditation, and an occasional Super Smash Bros. Tournament.[92]

The Belmont Public Library offers an array of children's programs including story times for various age groups, concerts, music classes, puppet shows, a maker club, and sing-along Saturdays.[93]

The Saratoga Springs Public Library also has numerous story times as well as Yoga for children, parent/child workshops, Spanish workshops, a read-to-a-dog program, and a Kindness club.[94]

The Chelmsford Public Library has a plethora of story times for ages birth to preschool. They also offer baby yoga, stay and play time, toddler rhyme time, a dads and donuts day, and an annual Gingerbread Festival.[95]

A significant goal of American libraries is to become more culturally diverse throughout the country. Public libraries are an equal access facility and want to make everyone feel welcome no matter their religion, race, ethnicity, sex, or financial status. To accomplish this goal, libraries are striving to find ways in which to make both staff and the library programs they provide more culturally sensitive.

A starting point for most libraries is to find out the demographics in which they are located. Once the library system learns more about the community they serve, they can start building a collection and programs around it. Another suggestion from multiple experts says to hire staff that represents the society that the library is located in order to better relate and serve members of that society.

By making culturally diverse programs, a library can be inviting to many members of the community. A few ways libraries accomplish this goal are by providing programs which are inclusive to many different cultures such as having lectures or events in different languages, including celebrations and holidays that are diverse, and by inviting speakers and authors from different cultures to come and talk. [96]

A public library in Garowe, Somalia

Librarians at most public libraries provide reference and research help to the general public. This can include assisting students in finding reliable sources for papers and presentations; helping the public find answers to questions or evidence in a debate; or providing resources related to a specific event or topic. Reference assistance is usually provided through a reference interview which is usually conducted at a public reference desk but may also be conducted by telephone or online. Reference librarians may also help patrons develop an appropriate bibliography or works cited page for an academic paper. Depending on the size of the library, there may be multiple reference desks that deal with different topics. Large public, academic or research libraries may employ librarians that are experts in specific topics or subjects. Often the children's section in a public library has its own reference desk. At a smaller library, circulation and reference may occur at the same desk.

The Internet has had a significant effect on the availability and delivery of reference services. Many reference works, such as the Encyclopædia Britannica, have moved entirely online, and the way people access and use these works has changed dramatically in recent decades. The rise of search engines and crowd-sourced resources such as Wikipedia have transformed the reference environment. In addition to the traditional reference interview, reference librarians have an increasing role in providing access to digitized reference works (including the selection and purchase of databases not available to the general public) and ensuring that references are reliable and presented in an academically acceptable manner. Librarians also have a role in teaching information literacy, so that patrons can find, understand and use information and finding aids like search engines, databases and library catalogs: for instance, patrons who lack access to expensive academic subscriptions can be taught to Unpaywall to access open access literature easily.[97]

Public libraries may answer millions of reference questions every year. The Boston Public Library answers more than one million reference questions annually.[98]

Reading area in a Singapore public library

In addition to their circulating collection, public libraries usually offer a collection of reference books, such encyclopedias, dictionaries, phone books and unique or expensive academic works. These books may not be available for borrowing, except under special circumstances. Reference books that are frequently used, such as phone books, may be housed in a special section called "ready reference."

Some libraries also keep historical documents relevant to their particular town, and serve as a resource for historians in some instances. The Queens Public Library kept letters written by unrecognized Tiffany lamp designer Clara Driscoll, and the letters remained in the library until a curator discovered them.[99] Some libraries may also serve as archives or government depositories, preserving historic newspapers, property records or government documents. Collections of unique or historical works are sometimes referred to as special collections; except in rare cases, these items are reference items, and patrons must use them inside the library under the supervision or guidance of a librarian. Local libraries' special collections may be of particular interest to people researching their family history. Libraries that are focused on collecting works related to particular families are genealogical libraries and may be housed in the same building as a public library.

Many libraries—especially large, urban libraries—have large collections of photographs, digital images, rare and fragile books, artifacts and manuscripts available for public viewing and use. Digitization and digital preservation of these works is an ongoing effort, usually funded by grants or philanthropy. In 2005, the New York Public Library offered the "NYPL Digital Gallery" which made a collection of 275,000 images viewable over the web; while most of the contents are in the public domain, some images are still subject to copyright rules.[100] Limited funding, copyright restrictions, a lack of expertise and poor provenance are barriers to the large-scale digitization of libraries' special collections.

A burro library in Colombia

Depending on a community's desires and needs, public libraries may offer many other resources and services to the public. In addition to print books and periodicals, most public libraries today have a wide array of other media including audiobooks, e-books, CDs, cassettes, videotapes, and DVDs. Certain libraries stock general materials for borrowing, such as pots, pans, sewing machines, and similar household items in order to appeal to a larger population.[101] Collections of books and academic research related to the local town or region are common, along with collections of works by local authors. Libraries' storage space and lending systems may be used to lend a wide range of materials, including works of art, cake pans, seeds, tools and musical instruments.[102] Similar to museums and other cultural institutions, libraries may also host exhibits or exhibitions.

As more government services move online, libraries and librarians have a role in providing access to online forms and assistance with filling them out.[103] For example, in 2013, American public libraries were promoted as a way for people to access online health insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act.[104]

In rural areas, the local public library may have a bookmobile service, consisting of one or more buses or pack animals (such as burros, camels, donkey, or elephants) furnished as small public libraries, some equipped with Internet access points or computer labs, and serving the countryside according to a regular schedule. In communities that are extremely isolated or that have poor digital infrastructure, libraries may provide the only access to online education, telemedicine, or telework. Libraries also partner with schools and community organizations to promote literacy and learning.[105]

24-hour library access has been piloted in certain public libraries in North America, such as the Pioneer Library System's Norman Public Library in Oklahoma and Ottawa Public Library in Ontario.[106] Such access may involve anywhere from a "library vending machine", in which print books are mechanically vended to (and dispensed from) patrons,[107][108] to reduced staff during the night and early morning hours.

Libraries promote cultural awareness; in Newark, New Jersey, the public library celebrated black history with exhibits and programs.[109] One account suggested libraries were essential to "economic competitiveness" as well as "neighborhood vitality" and help some people find jobs.[105]

Libraries have in important role during emergencies and disasters, where they may be used as shelters, provide space to charge phones and access the Internet, and serve as locations for the distribution of aid, especially financial aid, which requires access to computers and the Internet.[110] The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency recognizes libraries as providing essential community service during times of disaster.[111] Libraries have also had in increasingly important economic role during the recession, providing job search assistance, computer skills training and resume help to patrons.[112]

In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, many libraries have begun offering remote and distance learning options for patrons.[113]

• Black, Alistair. "Skeleton in the cupboard: social class and the public library in Britain through 150 years." Library History 16.1 (2000): 3-12. says "they have always been, and continue to be, an expression of liberal middleclass ideals." abstract
• Charing, S. "Self-Help v State Intervention: the 1850 Public Library Act as a Reflection of Mid-Victorian Doctrine," Australian Library Journal (1995) 44(1), pp. 47–54.
• Hayes, Emma, and Anne Morris. "Leisure role of public libraries A historical perspective." Journal of librarianship and information science 37.2 (2005): 75–81. abstract
• Hoare, P. (ed.) Cambridge History of Libraries in Britain and Ireland (Cambridge University Press, 2006)
• Kelly, Thomas, History of Public Libraries in Great Britain 1845–1965 (London: Library Association, 1973)
• Kelly, T & E. Kelly. Books for the People: an illustrated history of the British Public Library (London: Andre Deutsch, 1977)
• McMenemy, D. The Public Library (London: FACET, 2009)
• Minto, J. History of the Public Library Movement in Great Britain and Ireland (London: Library Association, 1932)
• Munford, William Arthur. Penny rate: aspects of British public library history, 1850–1950 (Library association, 1951)
• Murison, W. J. The Public Library: its origins, purpose and significance (2nd ed. London: Harrap, 1971)
• Overington, Michael A. The Subject Departmentalized Public Library. London: The Library Association, 1969. 167 p.
• Stockham, K. A., ed. British County Libraries: 1919–1969. (London: André Deutsch, 1969)
• Sturges, P. "Conceptualizing the public library 1850–1919." In Kinnell, M. and Sturges, P. (eds) Continuity and Innovation in the Public Library: the Development of a Social Institution (London: Library Association, 1996)

• Harris, Michael H. (1967) "Library history: a critical essay on the in-print literature." Journal of Library History (1967): 117–125. in JSTOR, covers the main books for major countries