American Libraries before 1876

Contents: Introduction Libraries in the Colonial and Revolutionary Periods Libraries from the end of the Revolutionary Period through 1875 Kinds of libraries in existence before 1876 Social libraries Libraries belonging to organizations that were not formed to establish libraries Libraries belonging to institutions, some of which were operated by private organizations and some of which were operated by government units Libraries belonging to government agencies Libraries belonging to business firms and individuals Libraries of uncertain ownership Subject matter of the collections Private libraries, school libraries, and Sunday School libraries