The Availability and Use of Books in Libraries in Nineteenth-Century Bendigo, Australia

Contemporary nineteenth-century observers asserted that Bendigonians had no literature. This article reconsiders this judgment and demonstrates with case histories of existing bookstores and libraries that the early goldfield settlers had richer cultural resources than hitherto perceived. There were relatively many books and periodicals, and a few titles were fairly current. Systematic reading of early newspapers and magazines of frontier societies can yield valuable evidence to examine impressionistic generalizations about reading materials and to illuminate cultural and local library history.