In 1731, Benjamin Franklin had an idea. At that time, in colonial America, books were rare, and prohibitively expensive for most people—not to mention the fact that they took forever to arrive from Europe. A few years earlier, Franklin had established a “society of mutual improvement” called the Junto, which would regularly meet to discuss “queries on any point of Morals, Politics, or Natural Philosophy,” as Franklin put it. But none of the members had enough money for the personal libraries they wanted, and sometimes their queries went unanswered.
The Library Company of Philadelphiastill exists today as an independent research library, and still keeps itsoldest books on the shelves.