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Jan 8, 1300
Libraries begin in universities
Universities like the Sorbonne, Oxford, and Heidelberg, begin making collections of books for students to use, beginning a change in creating school libraries. -
Laws passed required reading
In 1642, a law was passed in colonial America by Massachusetts bay colony that required all male children to be able to read to prepare for careers, this sparked a new need for public libraries -
First textbook on collection development created
The first textbook on collection development was created by Gabriel Naudé, who believed textbooks should be readily available for university students. This also helped to create libraries for universities. -
First librarian hired
The first librarian hired, Louis Timothee, was hired by the Library Company in 1733. He would begin to shape librarians from the very beginning. -
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Land donated to create library
In 1747, wealthy Quakers gathered money to give land in Rhode Island to create a new library. Then in 1750, this library was built and is still standing today as one of the oldest lending libraries in America. 90% of its original books are still there as well! -
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Libraries begin to explode across America
In between 1790 and 1850 an total of around 1,200 libraries were established. This proved that there was a need for libraries, and libraries would begin to change with each new one built. -
First modern public library opened
After a lot of debate, the first modern public library was established in 1854. This was the first library for not only scholars, but for the whole community. This begun a big change in creating more public libraries. -
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Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a huge success for libraries in America. With the 310 million dollars he donated, he created 1,679 libraries which still stand today. -
The depression hits
Even though libraries were widely used during the Great Depression, libraries were still forced to make some cuts. This didn't mean people weren't allowed to come to the library though. Many people found solace in coming to the library to help keep their minds of off the issues at hand, so it was very important for libraries to stay open and active during this time. -
Internet begins to boom
During this time, the Internet was becoming huge with the way libraries were running. Personal computers were high in demand, which meant information was also high in demand. -
Other media booms
By the time the 1990's hit, many people were demanding other uses to find information other than books. Many people were looking for audio books and other forms of electronic books to make things easier on the user. This ultimately caused libraries to become much more tech savvy.
