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The New York Free Circulating Library (NYFCL) was founded in 1879 and incorporated in 1880. Its aim was to supply free reading material and reading rooms to the people of New York City. Over its lifetime, it expanded from a single location to eleven locations and an additional traveling department. It was notable for the large part women played in its administration and staffing. In 1901, the system became part of the New York Public Library. ==Origins== During the 1870s and 1880s, the need of an adequate system of home circulation of books was frequently mentioned in New York City papers and government. Most discussions of such a system never got beyond the talking stage, but they were an indication of public appreciation of the need. Early in 1879, six girls belonging to a sewing class at New York City's Grace Church were waiting for their teacher, and whiled away the time by listening to a sensational story read from a cheap paper by one of their number. The story was overheard by the teacher on her arrival, and she was thus led to inquire regarding the children's reading material, and to make efforts to improve it. The paper was gladly given up in exchange for a book, and each of the girls was offered one such book a week as a loan, on condition that she would never again buy a sensational story paper. Other women became interested, about 500 books were collected, and a room at 13th Street, east of 4th Avenue, was obtained for library use. The facility was advertised by telling the children to bring their friends, and although at first the room was open only once a week for two hours at a time, the attendance was soon so great that the sidewalk was blocked during the library hours, and on one occasion only two volumes were left in the room. At the end of the first year about 1,200 volumes, all gifts, were on the shelves, and about 7,000 had been given out to the public. According to the ''Evening Post'' for March 18, 1880, patrons included children and men of 60 or 70 years of age, and their dwellings were scattered widely across the city. After wider consultations, and some study of library conditions both in New York and in other large cities, the conclusion was reached that the special needs of the city at this time would be met by the establishment of a library for the circulation of books among the very poor. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「New York Free Circulating Library」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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