What Is the Oldest Library in the United States?

Libraries have existed in the United States since before the country was an independent nation. Given the long tradition, there are several establishments that could be deemed the oldest library in America. It depends whether you consider the oldest free public library, the first library building or the oldest library of any kind.

The oldest subscription library in the United States is the Library Company of Philadelphia, which Benjamin Franklin founded in November 1731. At the time, Franklin was a member of a group called Junto, a club of thinkers that assembled to talk about “queries on any point of Morals, Politics, or Natural Philosophy,” as the Founding Father put it in his autobiography. Club members, most of whom were merchants, wanted access to books other than their own to inspire their weekly discussions. The first 50 Library Company members each invested 40 shillings to build the book collection, which notably included volumes in English at a time when most books at private and university libraries were written in Latin. Nonmembers of the subscription library could borrow books if they provided collateral.

Franklin was also involved in creating the oldest free public library in the United States: the Franklin Public Library in Massachusetts. In 1778, a newly incorporated town near Rhode Island’s northern border was named “Franklin” instead of “Exeter” in honor of the statesman and inventor. In exchange, Franklin was asked to donate a bell for the local church steeple. Instead, he donated a collection of 116 books because he believed that “sense” was more important than “sound.” At a town meeting on November 20, 1790, attendees voted to allow residents to borrow the books free of charge, establishing the first public library in the United States. It remains open today, though a nonprofit, not the town, oversaw operations for much of the library’s history.

The Boston Public Library was founded in 1848, making it the first large free municipal library in the United States. It is also the first to have a branch library and a dedicated area for children. When the original library opened its doors in 1854, any Massachusetts resident could borrow materials from its collection of 16,000 volumes.

Sturgis Library in Barnstable, Massachusetts, inhabits the former home of Reverend John Lothrop, who was one of the earliest European settlers of the town. Constructed in 1644, the property on Cape Cod is the oldest building housing a public library in the United States, though Sturgis Library didn’t open until 1867. Because Lothrop used the front room of his house for public worship, that part of the library is also the country’s oldest existing structure where religious services were regularly held.