Books were very expensive during my time and therefore not everyone was able to afford them. Some fellow printers and I, known as the Leather Apron Club (because most of us wore leather aprons) discussed ways we could help the community. Through my suggestion, we started a lending library that was open to everyone. We would pool our money and buy books, which people could borrow.

So, in 1731, the first lending library in America opened. Soon, other towns began to imitate the library, until reading became fashionable even among the less educated.

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• Benjamin Franklin:
  Printer | Librarian | Inventor | Statesman | Timeline