Library Near Me

Do you feel like escaping into a new life and going on an adventure? Are you looking to learn something new? Are you just looking for a quiet place to work? Well, your local library and help you with all of those things and you are in the right place to find it.

Simply check out the, Library Near Me Map below and find all of your local library branches, their names, addresses and operating hours. You can also get directions to the location of your choice with a few quick clicks. Very soon, you can be off on your way to a new adventure, or just a quiet study place.

Library Near Me – Find it on the Map

Library Near Me – Library Trivia

A History of Libraries in America

American Public Libraries have their roots in the European Literary Salons, which were founded more for general discussion by the educated elite than on the books themselves; however, these Salons, with the increase in book publications due to printing presses and the rapid increase in literate individuals in the 1700s created a demand for a place for book collections to be made available. Membership Libraries were created to serve this need. These were libraries where membership fees were changed to use them and the books were purchased through fees and donations.

The first membership library in America was created by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia, it was known as the Library Company. This library became the first way for the non-wealthy elite to get access to books and for those wealthier merchants to increase their access as well. The money that was pooled by membership fees and donations was used to order books from London as that was the largest hub for the American colonies.

The first “lending” or pubic library was created, also with the help of Benjamin Franklin, in 1790, after he donated a collection of books to Franklin, Massachusetts. The books were made freely available for borrowing for the library.

During the 19th century, the number of public libraries started to increase. In 1833, the first completely publicly funded library was founded in Peterborough, New Hampshire and Boston started the first large public library in 1848, but it didn’t open until 6 years after its founding. It had an impressive 16,000 volume collection when it opened up and any resident of the state of Massachusetts could borrow from it.

Today, public libraries are in almost every community. They have faced a number of problems over the last hundred years, particularly in operation cost reductions due to recession years. With the increased use of computers and smart phones, libraries have branched out their services and found new ways to connect to users, such as online e-book borrowing services.

At your local library you will be able to find classes on how to use computers and word processors. There are often numerous free or reduced priced classes and seminars on useful topics, such as resume writing and word processing. So, whatever your need, your library is there to help you. You just have to find it, and that is what Library Near Me search is there to help you with.

Library Near Me – Library Facts

Public Library Facts

With such a long history of public libraries in American life, you would think they would have a lot of interesting fun facts and tidbits about them, well you are right. There are a lot and it is hard to select only a the best to share here, but let’s try. A top 10 interesting facts about public libraries in America.

1.What do libraries and the FBI have in common? Well, if you think the answer was that you could read sensitive documents at your local library, you aren’t far off. In one instance, that is known, an FBI agent actually extremely sensitive documents at the Library of Congress, which means, all you needed was your library card to be able to read them. So, if you wanted to read about the FBI interrogation strategies, the information was there for the public for several years.

2.The beloved Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day, has been selected by the National Film Preservation Board to be safely maintained in the Library of Congress. While many may find the endless loop of the movie on some TV stations to be excessive every February 2nd, it shall be kept safe by the Library of Congress for generations to come.

3.Now time for a more controversial topic. Which would you think there are more of, Libraries or the giant M for McDonalds? Well, with 14,259 McDonalds Restaurants and 16,541 public libraries, there are actually more libraries, as of 2015. One day McDonalds may win the competition.

4.More than 2 billion items are borrowed from libraries every year; however, only 68% of people even have a library card. Those that do use their library card, borrow 7 items on average every year.

5.Each taxpayer, pays on average, only $31 per year to keep open public libraries. With the average cost of a hardcover book being $27 or $7 for a trade paperback, if you borrow 2 hard cover books or 5 paperbacks each year, and read them, you are easily getting your money’s worth of your local library.

6.While libraries, like schools and buses were segregated by ethnicity prior to 1963, the libraries generally integrated themselves much quicker than other institutions.

7.Andrew Carnegie spent a large amount of his wealth creating libraries. Over the years, he created 2,509 libraries, spending 55 million dollars in the process. 1,679 of which were in the United States. Meaning, more than 1 in 10 libraries, if they all survived, in the United States was started by one man’s generosity.

8.There is actually a library, located in both Derby Lane, Vermont and Rocky Island, Quebec. A library in 2 different countries! If you enter through one side and exit out the other, you actually have to go through customs. The building is recognized by both the United States and Canada as a Heritage Building.

9.Ready for something from a Halloween special? In the Harvard Library, there is a collection of books that are bound in human skin. The practice was more common in the past, and the bodies used for acquiring the skin were often those of unnamed or unclaimed patients who had died.

10.Need a hammer? Well, if you are a resident of Oakland, California, you can actually get it at your local library. The public library in Oakland, California lends out tools from a collection of 3,500 items. Such a useful place.

So, no matter which library you find while searching Library Near Me, just remember that your libraries have a fun and interesting history in every community they are part of.