01/17/2026
đź“š First Public Lending Library
In 1778, the township of Franklin separated from Wrentham and was incorporated as a new town. “Exeter” was the first name proposed for the new town, but was later changed to honor Benjamin Franklin. An unknown person wrote to Benjamin Franklin in 1785 requesting his acknowledgement of the town named in his honor, and suggested the donation of a bell for the steeple of the town’s meetinghouse. In response, Benjamin Franklin wrote to Dr. Richard Price of London and requested a selection of books to be gifted to the townspeople in place of a bell, with “... sense being preferable to sound.”
The books arrived in 1786 and were housed in the existing parish library of the Congregational Church, under the leadership of the Reverend Nathanael Emmons. Debate soon emerged over rightful access to the books, as use of the parish library was limited to those who attended the Congregational Church at the center of town, called “subscribers” to the library. Thus, inhabitants who lived far from the town center and attended congregational churches of other communities closer to their homes were unable to use the books.
During a town meeting on December 24, 1789, a resolution was reached creating two groups of books: the parish library available to subscribers only, and the books donated by Benjamin Franklin for use by all townspeople. The collection expanded in 1811, when a “social library” was established with additional books that could be lent out to the public, in exchange for six pence in annual library dues. The new books are listed in addition to Franklin’s books in the town’s first printed library catalog, A Catalogue of those Books in Franklin Library (1812). With that, the Franklin Library became the nation’s first public lending library.
đź“·: The current housing for the books gifted by Benjamin Franklin to the town at Franklin Public Library Official Site Library. (Image Source: Sharon Brody, WBUR).
