The Voluntary Libraries of Victorian Britain: Volume 1 (New Directions in Book History)

This volume provides an examination of the kind of free (or nearly free) libraries which were available to the general public in England and Wales in the late nineteenth century, but which were not supported by local taxation. They were effectually substitutes for municipal public libraries in areas where that sort of library provision did not exist. And they were voluntary because they did not enjoy funding from local councils but from wealthy philanthropists or from raising money themselves from well-wishers. Many of those libraries were located in cities and towns (there were many in London) but village libraries are included. Volume 2 covers Scotland and Ireland, as well as the often-ignored subject of workplace libraries.