The 19th century saw the establishment of the modern public library

movement, driven by the ideals of education, literacy, and social reform.

The first tax-supported public library in the United States, the Peterborough
Town Library in New Hampshire, was founded in 1833.
The Public Libraries Act of 1850 in the United Kingdom marked a
significant milestone, enabling local authorities to establish free public
libraries funded by local taxes.
Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish-American philanthropist, funded the
construction of thousands of public libraries around the world in the late
19th and early 20th centuries, contributing to the growth of the public
library movement.
The development of library science as a professional field in the late 19th
century led to advancements in library management, cataloging, and
services.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, public libraries evolved to incorporate new
technologies, digital resources, and community-oriented programs and
services, adapting to the changing needs of patrons in the digital age.
 History of public libraries
Timeline

Ancient Libraries
(3rd millennium BCE - 5th century CE):
Middle Ages
Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome (5th century - 15th century):
• clay tablets. Monasteries and religious institutions
• papyri scrolls. Archives served as
• Manuscripts. libraries Accessible to monks
and scholars

Renaissance and Early Modern The House of Wisdom in Baghdad

Period • major intellectual center in the Islamic Golden

(15th century - 18th century): Age.
invention of the printing press • housing a vast library and facilitating translation
and preservation of ancient texts.
establishment of private libraries among the
wealthy elite.
The first true public library in Europe Modern Public Libraries
(19th century - present):
manuscripts and
the Bibliotheca Marciana,
printed books
driven by the ideals of education, literacy, and social
only to scholars. later to the general reform.
Library of the British Museum
public
The Public Libraries Act of 1850 in the United

forms Kingdom marked a significant milestone,.

ranging from small community reading rooms to evolved from repositories of printed offering a wide range of resources,
large urban institutions. materials to dynamic hubs of lifelong services, and programming
learning,