
Benjamin Franklin - Librarian
Books were very
expensive during my time and therefore not everyone was able to afford
them. Some fellow printers and I, known as the Leather Apron Club (because
most of us wore leather aprons) discussed ways we could help the community.
Through my suggestion, we started a lending library that was open to
everyone. We would pool our money and buy books, which people could
borrow.
So, in 1731, the first lending library
in America opened. Soon, other towns began to imitate the library, until
reading became fashionable even among the less educated.
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