Circulating library

A circulating library (also known as lending libraries and rental libraries) was first and foremost a business venture. The intention was to profit from lending books to the public for a fee.

Circulating libraries offered an alternative to the large number of readers who could not afford the price of new books in the nineteenth century but also desired to quench their desire for new material. Many circulating libraries were perceived as the provider of sensational novels to a female clientele but that was not always the case. Many private circulating libraries in Europe were created for scientific and/or literary audiences. In Britain, readers in the middle classes depended on these institutions to provide access to the latest fiction novels that required a substantial subscription that many lower class readers couldn't afford.

Circulating libraries rented out bestsellers in large numbers, allowing publishers and authors to increase their readership and increase their earnings, respectively. Publishers and circulating libraries became decreasingly dependent on each other in the nineteenth century for their mutual profit. Circulating libraries also influenced book publishers to keep producing expensive volume-based books instead of a single-volume format (see Three-volume novel). However, when bestselling fiction titles went out of fashion quickly, many circulating libraries were left with inventory they could neither sell nor rent out. This is one of the reasons why circulating libraries, such as Charles Edward Mudie, were eventually forced to close their doors in response to cheaper alternatives.

It is complicated to precisely define circulating libraries and specifically what separates them from other types of libraries. In the time period of circulating libraries, there were other libraries, such as subscription libraries, that operated in a similar fashion but were not the same. However, when both types of libraries were commonplace, the terms circulating libraries and subscription libraries “were completely interchangeable." It was logical that they were considered to be the same since both libraries circulated books and charged a subscription fee. The libraries differed in their intent. Circulating libraries’ intent was financial gain, and subscription libraries intended to obtain literary and scholarly works to share with others.

Circulating libraries were popular in the 18th and 19th century and were located in large and small communities. Usually they were operated out of stores that sold other items such as newspapers and books. Sometimes they were in stores that sold items completely unrelated to books. The fees were for long periods of time such ranging from several months to a year. Eventually the fees changed to daily rates to try to entice customers in some libraries.

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Wikipedia