Charleston Library Society

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Charleston Library Society, founded in 1748, is a subscription library in Charleston, South Carolina.

The Library is the 3rd oldest subscription library in the United States after the Library Company of Philadelphia which was founded om 1731 by Benjamin Franklin and the Redwood Library and Athenaeum of Newport, Rhode Island founded in 1747. The Charleston Library was founded before The Providence Athenaeum founded in 1753, the New York Society Library founded in 1754, and the Boston Athenaeum founded in 1807.

[edit] History

In 1748 a group of private citizens started the library to gain access to a collection of books that they could not afford invididually. Members voluntarily paid (and still pay) a small subscription to the library to purchase books which all members may share. Most of the early books needed to be purchased from England because the American printing industry was only in its infancy in the 18th century. The Library Society played a crucial role in the founding of the College of Charleston in 1770 and the Charleston Museum in 1773. Between 1861 and 1865 the collections were moved to the state capitol for safekeeping due to the War. The collections have been housed at the current location since 1914.