… according to The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor …
It was on this day in 1731 that Ben Franklin founded the first circulating library, a forerunner to the now ubiquitous free public library. He started it as a way to help settle intellectual arguments among his group of Philadelphia friends, the Junto, a group of civic-minded individuals gathered together to discuss the important issues of their day.
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[from Jessamyn West’s blog: librarian.net]