A public library is a library , most often a lending library , that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals , who are also civil servants .
104-648: 1°18′18.2″N 103°54′34.2″E / 1.305056°N 103.909500°E / 1.305056; 103.909500 Marine Parade Public Library is a public library in Marine Parade , Singapore. It is co-located with Marine Parade Community Club in the Marine Parade Community Building . It is the first public library owned by the National Library Board to be located inside a community building . Since May 2022,
208-582: A board to serve the public interest; (3) they are open to all, and every community member can access the collection; (4) they are entirely voluntary, no one is ever forced to use the services provided; and (5) they provide library and information services without charge. Public libraries exist in many countries across the world and are often considered an essential part of having an educated and literate population. Public libraries are distinct from research libraries , school libraries , academic libraries in other states and other special libraries . Their mandate
312-466: A clientele of some fifty thousand." The mid-to-late 18th century saw a virtual epidemic of feminine reading as novels became more and more popular. Novels, while frowned upon in society, were extremely popular. In England, there were many who lamented at the "villainous profane and obscene books", and the opposition to the circulating library, on moral grounds, persisted well into the 19th century. Still, many establishments must have circulated many times
416-605: A common pattern. Membership was restricted to the proprietors or shareholders, and ranged from a dozen or two to between four and five hundred. The entrance fee, i.e. the purchase price of a share, was in early days usually a guinea, but rose sharply as the century advanced, often reaching four or five guineas during the French wars; the annual subscription, during the same period, rose from about six shillings to ten shillings or more. The book-stock was, by modern standards, small (Liverpool, with over 8,000 volumes in 1801, seems to have been
520-428: A completely new way of reading. Reading was no longer simply an academic pursuit or an attempt to gain spiritual guidance . Reading became a social activity. Many circulating libraries were attached to the shops of milliners or drapers. They served as much for social gossip and the meeting of friends as coffee shops do today. Another factor in the growth of subscription libraries was the increasing cost of books. In
624-462: A greater number of patrons, were able to accumulate greater numbers of books. The United Public Library was said to have a collection of some 52,000 volumes – twice as many as any private-subscription library in the country at that period. These libraries, since they functioned as a business, also lent books to non-subscribers on a per-book system. Despite the existence of these subscription libraries, they were only accessible to those who could afford
728-410: A later development, which were made possible by the establishment of County Councils in 1888. They normally have a large central library in a major town with smaller branch libraries in other towns and a mobile library service covering rural areas. A new Public Libraries Act was passed in 1964. Local authorities were to provide a "comprehensive and efficient" library service. Public libraries built in
832-664: A number of industrial and construction processes. The oldest known archaeological fragments of the immediate precursor to modern paper date to the 2nd century BCE in China . The pulp papermaking process is ascribed to Cai Lun , a 2nd-century CE Han court eunuch . It has been said that knowledge of papermaking was passed to the Islamic world after the Battle of Talas in 751 CE when two Chinese papermakers were captured as prisoners and used to extract 'the secrets' of papermaking. Although
936-453: A place for other forms of commercial activity, which may or may not be related to print. This was necessary because the circulating libraries did not generate enough funds through subscription fees collected from its borrowers. As a commerce venture, it was important to consider the contributing factors such as other goods or services available to the subscribers. The Malatestiana Library ( Italian : Biblioteca Malatestiana ), also known as
1040-481: A population of 10,000 or more to raise a ½d for the establishment of museums". This became the Museums Act 1845 . The advocacy of Ewart and Brotherton then succeeded in having a select committee set up to consider public library provision. The Report argued that the provision of public libraries would steer people towards temperate and moderate habits. With a view to maximising the potential of current facilities,
1144-527: A rag paper. The aging behaviour of a paper is determined by its manufacture, not the original source of the fibres. Furthermore, tests sponsored by the Library of Congress prove that all paper is at risk of acid decay, because cellulose itself produces formic, acetic, lactic and oxalic acids. Mechanical pulping yields almost a tonne of pulp per tonne of dry wood used, which is why mechanical pulps are sometimes referred to as "high yield" pulps. With almost twice
SECTION 10
#17327876622111248-418: A simple majority. It also allowed neighbouring parishes to combine with an existing or potential library authority. Despite the rise in the level of tax public libraries could levy, it was still very difficult for boroughs to raise enough capital to fund new libraries. The growth of the public library movement in the wake of the 1850 Act relied heavily on the donations of philanthropists. County libraries were
1352-625: A statutory board in September 1995. It started moving in stages to the community building in April 2000, and was officially opened by Goh Chok Tong on 28 May that year. The Marine Parade Community Library is the first public library in Singapore to be housed together with a community club and an arts group. The library's old premises was renovated for an NTUC FairPrice supermarket. It was renamed as Marine Parade Public Library in 2008. The library
1456-585: A supporter of the temperance movement , was able to secure the Chair of the select committee which would examine "the extent, causes, and consequences of the prevailing vice of intoxication among the labouring classes of the United Kingdom" and propose solutions. Francis Place , a campaigner for the working class, agreed that "the establishment of parish libraries and district reading rooms, and popular lectures on subjects both entertaining and instructive to
1560-447: A variety of aluminium sulfate salt that is significantly acidic . Alum was added to paper to assist in sizing , making it somewhat water resistant so that inks did not "run" or spread uncontrollably. Early papermakers did not realize that the alum they added liberally to cure almost every problem encountered in making their product would be eventually detrimental. The cellulose fibres that make up paper are hydrolyzed by acid, and
1664-465: A variety of materials including the increasingly popular novels . Although the circulating libraries filled an important role in society, members of the middle and upper classes often looked down upon these libraries that regularly sold material from their collections and provided materials that were less sophisticated. Circulating libraries also charged a subscription fee . However, these fees were set to entice their patrons, providing subscriptions on
1768-462: A wide variety of properties, depending on its intended use. It is estimated that paper-based storage solutions captured 0.33% of the total in 1986 and only 0.007% in 2007, even though in absolute terms the world's capacity to store information on paper increased from 8.7 to 19.4 petabytes . It is estimated that in 1986 paper-based postal letters represented less than 0.05% of the world's telecommunication capacity, with sharply decreasing tendency after
1872-591: A yearly, quarterly or monthly basis, without expecting the subscribers to purchase a share in the circulating library. This helped patrons who could not afford to buy books, to be able to borrow books to read, and then return. This also created a more popular demand, as book fees were growing, and more books were being copied. Circulating libraries were very popular; the first one was located in 1725, in Edinburgh, Scotland , by Allan Ramsay . Circulating libraries were not exclusively lending institutions and often provided
1976-443: Is uncoated . Coated paper has a thin layer of material such as calcium carbonate or china clay applied to one or both sides in order to create a surface more suitable for high-resolution halftone screens. (Uncoated papers are rarely suitable for screens above 150 lpi.) Coated or uncoated papers may have their surfaces polished by calendering . Coated papers are divided into matte, semi-matte or silk, and gloss. Gloss papers give
2080-491: Is a lamination of natural plant fibre, while paper is manufactured from fibres whose properties have been changed by maceration. To make pulp from wood, a chemical pulping process separates lignin from cellulose fibre. A cooking liquor is used to dissolve the lignin , which is then washed from the cellulose ; this preserves the length of the cellulose fibres. Paper made from chemical pulps are also known as wood-free papers (not to be confused with tree-free paper ); this
2184-455: Is a thick, paper-like material produced from the pith of the Cyperus papyrus plant, which was used in ancient Egypt and other Mediterranean cultures for writing before the introduction of paper. Although the word paper is etymologically derived from papyrus , the two are produced very differently and the development of the first is distinct from the development of the second. Papyrus
SECTION 20
#17327876622112288-574: Is another specialty process used to pulp straws , bagasse and hardwoods with high silicate content. There are two major mechanical pulps: thermomechanical pulp (TMP) and groundwood pulp (GW). In the TMP process, wood is chipped and then fed into steam-heated refiners, where the chips are squeezed and converted to fibres between two steel discs. In the groundwood process, debarked logs are fed into grinders where they are pressed against rotating stones to be made into fibres. Mechanical pulping does not remove
2392-451: Is because they do not contain lignin, which deteriorates over time. The pulp can also be bleached to produce white paper, but this consumes 5% of the fibres. Chemical pulping processes are not used to make paper made from cotton, which is already 90% cellulose. There are three main chemical pulping processes: the sulfite process dates back to the 1840s and was the dominant method before the second world war. The kraft process , invented in
2496-475: Is considered card. The weight of a ream therefore depends on the dimensions of the paper and its thickness. Most commercial paper sold in North America is cut to standard paper sizes based on customary units and is defined by the length and width of a sheet of paper. The ISO 216 system used in most other countries is based on the surface area of a sheet of paper, not on a sheet's width and length. It
2600-496: Is cut to width with holes punched at the edges, and folded into stacks. All paper produced by paper machines such as the Fourdrinier Machine are wove paper, i.e. the wire mesh that transports the web leaves a pattern that has the same density along the paper grain and across the grain. Textured finishes, watermarks and wire patterns imitating hand-made laid paper can be created by the use of appropriate rollers in
2704-417: Is formed as a paper web and the water is removed from it by pressing and drying. Pressing the sheet removes the water by force. Once the water is forced from the sheet, a special kind of felt, which is not to be confused with the traditional one, is used to collect the water. When making paper by hand, a blotter sheet is used instead. Drying involves using air or heat to remove water from the paper sheets. In
2808-443: Is mass-produced on large machines—some making reels 10 metres wide, running at 2,000 metres per minute and up to 600,000 tonnes a year. It is a versatile material with many uses, including printing , painting, graphics, signage, design, packaging, decorating, writing , and cleaning . It may also be used as filter paper, wallpaper, book endpaper, conservation paper, laminated worktops, toilet tissue, currency, and security paper, or in
2912-496: Is spread over four floors of the Marine Parade Community Building, with a floor area of 3,534 square metres (38,039 square feet). As one of the first neighbourhood libraries, the library's entire second floor is its children's book section, featuring murals , trivia and multimedia tools. The library has more than 150,000 books and 2,500 videos available for loan. There is a café on the ground floor, and
3016-419: Is to serve the general public's information needs rather than the needs of a particular school, institution, or research population. Public libraries also provide free services such as preschool story times to encourage early literacy among children. They also provide a quiet study and learning areas for students and professionals and foster the formation of book clubs to encourage the appreciation of literature by
3120-587: The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants . Dioxins are highly toxic, and health effects on humans include reproductive, developmental, immune and hormonal problems. They are known to be carcinogenic. Over 90% of human exposure is through food, primarily meat, dairy, fish and shellfish, as dioxins accumulate in the food chain in the fatty tissue of animals. The paper pulp and print industries emitted together about 1% of world greenhouse-gas emissions in 2010 and about 0.9% in 2012. In
3224-766: The earliest form of writing – the clay tablets in cuneiform script discovered in temple rooms in Sumer , some dating back to 2600 BC. They appeared five thousand years ago in Southwest Asia's Fertile Crescent , an area that ran from Mesopotamia to the Nile in Africa. Known as the cradle of civilization, the Fertile Crescent was likewise the birthplace of writing, sometime before 3000 BC. (Murray, Stuart A.P.) These first libraries, which mainly consisted of
Marine Parade Public Library - Misplaced Pages Continue
3328-491: The hydrogen bonds in the paper can be broken and fibres separated again. Most recycled paper contains a proportion of virgin fibre for the sake of quality; generally speaking, de-inked pulp is of the same quality or lower than the collected paper it was made from. There are three main classifications of recycled fibre: Recycled papers can be made from 100% recycled materials or blended with virgin pulp, although they are (generally) not as strong nor as bright as papers made from
3432-479: The lignin , so the yield is very high, > 95%; however, lignin causes the paper thus produced to turn yellow and become brittle over time. Mechanical pulps have rather short fibres, thus producing weak paper. Although large amounts of electrical energy are required to produce mechanical pulp, it costs less than the chemical kind. Paper recycling processes can use either chemically or mechanically produced pulp; by mixing it with water and applying mechanical action
3536-704: The 1830s, at the height of the Chartist movement, there was a general tendency towards reformism in the United Kingdom. The middle classes were concerned that the workers' free time was not being well-spent. This was prompted more by Victorian middle class paternalism than by demand from the lower social orders. Campaigners felt that encouraging the lower classes to spend their free time on morally uplifting activities, such as reading, would promote greater social good. Salford Museum and Art Gallery first opened in November 1850 as "The Royal Museum & Public Library", as
3640-448: The 1870s and first used in the 1890s, is now the most commonly practised strategy; one of its advantages is the chemical reaction with lignin produces heat, which can be used to run a generator. Most pulping operations using the kraft process are net contributors to the electricity grid or use the electricity to run an adjacent paper mill. Another advantage is that this process recovers and reuses all inorganic chemical reagents. Soda pulping
3744-405: The 18th century to today; as the country grew more populous and wealthier, factors such as a push for education and desire to share knowledge led to broad public support for free libraries. In addition, money donations by private philanthropists provided the seed capital to get many libraries started. In some instances, collectors donated large book collections. The first modern public library in
3848-496: The 1960s were characterized by modernism. The modern public library grew at a great pace at the end of the 19th century especially in the English-speaking world . Philanthropists and businessmen, including John Passmore Edwards , Henry Tate and Andrew Carnegie , helped to fund the establishment of large numbers of public libraries for the edification of the masses. Public libraries in North America developed from
3952-681: The 2022−2024 edition of the annual "Pulp and paper capacites survey", the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that Asia has superseded North America as the top pulp and paper producing continent. FAO figures for 2021 show the production of graphic papers continuing its decline from a mid-2000s peak to hover below 100 million tonnes a year. By contrast, the production of other papers and paperboard – which includes cardboard and sanitary products – has continued to soar, exceeding 320 million tonnes. FAO has documented
4056-524: The Church of England or other gentlemen or persons of letters", but it was limited to just 422 volumes of mostly ecclesiastical and legal works. In Germany, there was another occurrence of an accessible public library. The Ducal Library at Wolfenbüttel was open "every weekday morning and afternoon" and loaned its books to the public. Between 1714 and 1799, the library loaned 31,485 books to 1,648 different users. These types of public libraries, much closer to
4160-665: The Eastern Mediterranean (see Library of Alexandria § In antiquity ). Historian Yahya of Antioch (d. 1066) reported that the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah ( r. 996–1021 ) financed and established libraries open to the public, where anyone, even the simple non-specialists, could choose whatever books they wanted and have them copied by public scribes, free of charge. However, as with many of his other decisions, Al-Hakim later ordered this policy to be reversed. In Cesena, Italy,
4264-486: The French philologist and churchman, operated an early form of a public library in the town of Saulieu from 1737 to 1750. He wished to make culture and learning accessible to all people. The Załuski Library ( Polish : Biblioteka Załuskich , Latin : Bibliotheca Zalusciana ) was built in Warsaw 1747–1795 by Józef Andrzej Załuski and his brother, Andrzej Stanisław Załuski , both Roman Catholic bishops. The library
Marine Parade Public Library - Misplaced Pages Continue
4368-676: The Malatesta Novello Library, is a public library dating from 1452 in Cesena , Emilia-Romagna ( Italy ). It was the first European civic library , i.e. belonging to the Commune and open to everybody. It was commissioned by the Lord of Cesena, Malatesta Novello . The works were directed by Matteo Nuti of Fano (a scholar of Leon Battista Alberti ) and lasted from 1447 to 1452. The first libraries consisted of archives of
4472-555: The Southern Hemisphere (3 vols) which was borrowed on 201 occasions. The records also show that in 1796, membership had risen by 1/3 to 198 subscribers (of whom 5 were women) and the titles increased five-fold to 4,987. This mirrors the increase in reading interests. A patron list from the Bath Municipal Library shows that from 1793 to 1799, the library held a stable 30% of their patrons as female. It
4576-557: The United States alone. The average office worker in the US prints 31 pages every day. Americans also use in the order of 16 billion paper cups per year. Conventional bleaching of wood pulp using elemental chlorine produces and releases into the environment large amounts of chlorinated organic compounds , including chlorinated dioxins . Dioxins are recognized as a persistent environmental pollutant, regulated internationally by
4680-550: The United States and in micrometres (μm) in the rest of the world. Paper may be between 0.07 and 0.18 millimetres (0.0028 and 0.0071 in) thick. Paper is often characterized by weight. In the United States, the weight is the weight of a ream (bundle of 500 sheets) of varying "basic sizes" before the paper is cut into the size it is sold to end customers. For example, a ream of 20 lb, 8.5 in × 11 in (216 mm × 279 mm) paper weighs 5 pounds because it has been cut from larger sheets into four pieces. In
4784-502: The United States, printing paper is generally 20 lb, 24 lb, 28 lb, or 32 lb at most. Cover stock is generally 68 lb, and 110 lb or more is considered card stock . In Europe and other regions using the ISO 216 paper-sizing system, the weight is expressed in grams per square metre (g/m or usually gsm) of the paper. Printing paper is generally between 60 gsm and 120 gsm. Anything heavier than 160 gsm
4888-399: The base of many academic and public library collections of today. The establishment of circulating libraries in the 18th century by booksellers and publishers provided a means of gaining profit and creating social centers within the community. The circulating libraries not only provided a place to sell books, but also a place to lend books for a price. These circulating libraries provided
4992-645: The clergy and residents of the surrounding neighborhood. Some scholars consider this library an "ancestor" to public libraries since its patrons did not need to belong to an existing organization like a church or college to use it. However, all the books in the library were chained to stalls and unavailable to borrow, hence its name: the Francis Trigge Chained Library. In the early years of the 17th century, many famous collegiate and town libraries were founded in England. Norwich City library
5096-518: The committee made two significant recommendations. They suggested that the government should issue grants to aid the foundation of libraries and that the Museums Act 1845 should be amended and extended to allow for a tax to be levied for the establishment of public libraries. Objections were raised about the increase in taxation , the potential infringement on private enterprise and the existing library provision such as mechanics' institutes and
5200-435: The community might draw off a number of those who now frequent public houses for the sole enjoyment they afford". Buckingham introduced to Parliament a Public Institution Bill allowing boroughs to charge a tax to set up libraries and museums, the first of its kind. Although this did not become law, it had a major influence on William Ewart MP and Joseph Brotherton MP, who introduced a bill which would "[empower] boroughs with
5304-542: The cost of manufacturing paper. In 1844, the Canadian inventor Charles Fenerty and the German inventor Friedrich Gottlob Keller independently developed processes for pulping wood fibres. Before the industrialisation of paper production the most common fibre source was recycled fibres from used textiles, called rags. The rags were from hemp , linen and cotton . A process for removing printing inks from recycled paper
SECTION 50
#17327876622115408-560: The earliest days of papermaking, this was done by hanging the sheets like laundry; in more modern times, various forms of heated drying mechanisms are used. On the paper machine, the most common is the steam-heated can dryer. These can reach temperatures above 93 °C (200 °F) and are used in long sequences of more than forty cans where the heat produced by these can easily dry the paper to less than six percent moisture. The paper may then undergo sizing to alter its physical properties for use in various applications. Paper at this point
5512-558: The end of the 18th century and in the first decades of the 19th century, the demand for books and general education made itself felt among social classes generated by the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. The late-18th century saw a rise in subscription libraries intended for the use of tradesmen. In 1797, there was established at Kendal what was known as the Economical Library, "designed principally for
5616-444: The expanding production of cardboard in paper and paperboard, which has been increasing in response to the spread of e-commerce since the 2010s. Data from FAO suggest that it has been even further boosted by COVID-19-related lockdowns. Some manufacturers have started using a new, significantly more environmentally friendly alternative to expanded plastic packaging. Made out of paper, and known commercially as PaperFoam,
5720-526: The expansion to a back room, to the spacious elegant areas of Hookham's or those at the resorts like Scarborough, and four in a row at Margate. Private-subscription libraries held a greater amount of control over both membership and the types of books in the library. There was almost a complete elimination of cheap fiction in the private societies. Subscription libraries prided themselves on respectability. The highest percentage of subscribers were often landed proprietors, gentry, and old professions. Towards
5824-546: The fear that it would give rise to "unhealthy social agitation". The Bill passed through Parliament as most MPs felt that public libraries would provide facilities for self-improvement through books and reading for all classes, and that the greater levels of education attained by providing public libraries would result in lower crime rates . Under the terms of the Museums Act of 1845 , the municipalities of Warrington and Salford established libraries in their museums. Warrington Municipal Library opened in 1848. Although by
5928-510: The fees and to those with time to read during the daylight. As stated by James Van Horn Melton, "one should not overstate the extent to which lending libraries 'democratized' reading" since "they were probably less important for creating new readers than for enabling those who already read to read more." For many people, these libraries, though more accessible than libraries such as the British Library, were still largely an institution for
6032-636: The first community-run public library, the Malatestiana Library , was established in 1447, provided both secular and religious texts in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and was fully open to all members of the public. Another early library that allowed access to the public was Kalendars or Kalendaries, a brotherhood of clergy and laity who were attached to the Church of All-Halloween or All Saints in Bristol , England. Records show that in 1464, provision
6136-579: The first unconditionally free public library in England. The library in Campfield , Manchester was the first library to operate a "free" lending library without subscription in 1852. Norwich lays claim to being the first municipality to adopt the Public Libraries Act 1850 (which allowed any municipal borough with a population of 100,000 or more to introduce a halfpenny rate to establish public libraries—although not to buy books). Norwich
6240-631: The form of novels. The national average start of the 20th century hovered around novels comprising about 20% of the total collection. Novels varied from other types of books in many ways. They were read primarily for enjoyment instead of for study. They did not provide academic knowledge or spiritual guidance; thus, they were read quickly and far fewer times than other books. These were the perfect books for commercial subscription libraries to lend. Since books were read for pure enjoyment rather than for scholarly work, books needed to become both cheaper and smaller. Small duodecimo editions of books were preferred to
6344-417: The highest optical density in the printed image. The paper is then fed onto reels if it is to be used on web printing presses, or cut into sheets for other printing processes or other purposes. The fibres in the paper basically run in the machine direction. Sheets are usually cut "long-grain", i.e. with the grain parallel to the longer dimension of the sheet. Continuous form paper (or continuous stationery)
SECTION 60
#17327876622116448-403: The large folio editions. Folio editions were read at a desk, while the small duodecimo editions could be easily read like the paperbacks of today. The French journalist Louis-Sébastien Mercier wrote that the books were also separated into parts so that readers could rent a section of the book for some hours instead of a full day. This allowed more readers could have access to the same work at
6552-497: The largest), and was accommodated, at the outset, in makeshift premises—very often over a bookshop, with the bookseller acting as librarian and receiving an honorarium for his pains. The Liverpool subscription library was a gentlemen-only library. In 1798, it was renamed the Athenaeum when it was rebuilt with a newsroom and coffeehouse. It had an entrance fee of one guinea and annual subscription of five shillings. An analysis of
6656-442: The last two decades of the century, especially, prices were practically doubled, so that a quarto work cost a guinea , an octavo 10 shillings or 12 shillings, and a duodecimo cost 4 shillings per volume. Price apart, moreover, books were difficult to procure outside London since local booksellers could not afford to carry large stocks. Commercial libraries, since they were usually associated with booksellers and also since they had
6760-414: The later stages of the machine. Wove paper does not exhibit "laidlines", which are small regular lines left behind on paper when it was handmade in a mould made from rows of metal wires or bamboo. Laidlines are very close together. They run perpendicular to the "chainlines", which are further apart. Handmade paper similarly exhibits "deckle edges", or rough and feathery borders. Paper can be produced with
6864-424: The latter. Besides the fibres, pulps may contain fillers such as chalk or china clay , which improve its characteristics for printing or writing. Additives for sizing purposes may be mixed with it or applied to the paper web later in the manufacturing process; the purpose of such sizing is to establish the correct level of surface absorbency to suit ink or paint. The pulp is fed to a paper machine, where it
6968-431: The library has been closed for construction work, which will continue till 2025. The library was originally called Marine Parade Branch Library . It was officially opened on 10 November 1978 by Mr Goh Chok Tong , Senior Minister of State (Finance) and Member of Parliament for Marine Parade Single Member Constituency and was opened to the public three days later on 13 November 1978. The Marine Parade Community Library
7072-435: The library is fitted with numerous couches and benches for the public's use. Other facilities include multimedia stations, do-it-yourself service stations, and music posts equipped with headphones. Public library There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries: (1) they are generally supported by taxes (usually local, though any level of government can and may contribute); (2) they are governed by
7176-424: The massive introduction of digital technologies. Paper has a major role in the visual arts. It is used by itself to form two- and three-dimensional shapes and collages . It has also evolved to being a structural material used in furniture design. Watercolor paper has a long history of production and use. The thickness of paper is often measured by caliper, which is typically given in thousandths of an inch in
7280-555: The mid-19th century, England could claim 274 subscription libraries and Scotland, 266, the foundation of the modern public library system in Britain is the Public Libraries Act 1850 . The Act first gave local boroughs the power to establish free public libraries and was the first legislative step toward the creation of an enduring national institution that provides universal free access to information and literature. In
7384-539: The mid-19th century, there were virtually no public libraries in the sense in which we now understand the term, i.e., libraries provided with public funds and freely accessible to all. Only one important library in Britain, namely Chetham's Library in Manchester, was fully and freely accessible to the public. The Chesshyre Library in Halton , Cheshire was founded as a free public library in 1733 for all "divines of
7488-529: The middle and upper classes. In A.D 1820, the State Central Library, Kerala started functioning in Trivandrum , India, which is not only India's first public library but also the first such institution outside of Europe. However, there had come into being a whole network of library provisions on a private or institutional basis. Subscription libraries, both private and commercial, provided
7592-433: The middle to upper classes with a variety of books for moderate fees. Private-subscription libraries functioned in much the same manner as commercial subscription libraries, though they varied in many important ways. One of the most popular versions of the private-subscription library was the "gentlemen only" library. The gentlemen's subscription libraries, sometimes known as proprietary libraries, were nearly all organized on
7696-519: The new packaging has mechanical properties very similar to those of some expanded plastic packaging, but is biodegradable and can also be recycled with ordinary paper. With increasing environmental concerns about synthetic coatings (such as PFOA ) and the higher prices of hydrocarbon based petrochemicals, there is a focus on zein (corn protein) as a coating for paper in high grease applications such as popcorn bags. Also, synthetics such as Tyvek and Teslin have been introduced as printing media as
7800-489: The number of novels as of any other genre. In 1797, Thomas Wilson wrote in The Use of Circulating Libraries : "Consider that for a successful circulating library, the collection must contain 70% fiction". However, the overall percentage of novels mainly depended on the proprietor of the circulating library . While some circulating libraries were almost completely novels, others had less than 10% of their overall collection in
7904-468: The office and the home are A4 and A3 (A3 is the size of two A4 sheets). The density of paper ranges from 250 kg/m (16 lb/cu ft) for tissue paper to 1 500 kg/m (94 lb/cu ft) for some specialty paper. Printing paper is about 800 kg/m (50 lb/cu ft). Paper may be classified into seven categories: Some paper types include: Much of the early paper made from wood pulp contained significant amounts of alum ,
8008-461: The past 40 years leading to increase in deforestation , with 35% of harvested trees being used for paper manufacture. Most paper companies also plant trees to help regrow forests. Logging of old growth forests accounts for less than 10% of wood pulp, but is one of the most controversial issues. Paper waste accounts for up to 40% of total waste produced in the United States each year, which adds up to 71.6 million tons of paper waste per year in
8112-428: The presence of alum eventually degrades the fibres until the acidic paper disintegrates in a process known as " slow fire ". Documents written on rag paper are significantly more stable. The use of non-acidic additives to make paper is becoming more prevalent, and the stability of these papers is less of an issue. Paper made from mechanical pulp contains significant amounts of lignin , a major component in wood. In
8216-428: The presence of light and oxygen, lignin reacts to give yellow materials, which is why newsprint and other mechanical paper yellows with age. Paper made from bleached kraft or sulfite pulps does not contain significant amounts of lignin and is therefore better suited for books, documents and other applications where whiteness of the paper is essential. Paper made from wood pulp is not necessarily less durable than
8320-484: The present-day concept of the public library, were extremely rare as most libraries remained difficult to access. The increase in secular literature at this time encouraged the spread of lending libraries, especially commercial subscription libraries . Commercial subscription libraries began when booksellers began renting out extra copies of books in the mid-18th century. Steven Fischer estimates that in 1790, there were "about six hundred rental and lending libraries, with
8424-463: The public library into the form that it is today. Public access to books is not new. Romans made scrolls in dry rooms available to patrons of the baths, and tried with some success to establish libraries within the empire . Public libraries existed in the Roman Empire by the 1st century BC. In the middle of the 19th century, the push for truly public libraries, paid for by taxes and run by
8528-464: The public. In 1790, The Public Library Act would not be passed for another sixty-seven years. Even though the British Museum existed at this time and contained over 50,000 books, the national library was not open to the public or even to most of the population. Access to the museum depended on passes, for which there was sometimes a waiting period of three to four weeks. Moreover, the library
8632-410: The records of commercial transactions or inventories, mark the end of prehistory and the start of history . Things were very similar in the government and temple records on papyrus of Ancient Egypt . The earliest discovered private archives were kept at Ugarit ; besides correspondence and inventories, texts of myths may have been standardized practice-texts for teaching new scribes. Persia at
8736-402: The registers for the first twelve years provides glimpses of middle-class reading habits in a mercantile community at this period. The largest and most popular sections of the library were History, Antiquities, and Geography, with 283 titles and 6,121 borrowings, and Belles Lettres, with 238 titles and 3,313 borrowings. The most popular single work was John Hawkesworth's Account of Voyages ... in
8840-463: The same time, making it more profitable for the circulating libraries. Much like paperbacks of today, many of the novels in circulating libraries were unbound. At this period of time, many people chose to bind their books in leather. Many circulating libraries skipped this process. Circulating libraries were not in the business of preserving books; their owners wanted to lend books as many times as they possibly could. Circulating libraries have ushered in
8944-474: The state gained force. Matthew Battles states that: It was in these years of class conflict and economic terror that the public library movement swept through Britain, as the nation's progressive elite recognized that the light of cultural and intellectual energy was lacking in the lives of commoners. Public libraries were often started with a donation , or were bequeathed to parishes , churches, schools or towns. These social and institutional libraries formed
9048-577: The time of the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC) was home to some outstanding libraries that were serving two main functions: keeping the records of administrative documents (e.g., transactions, governmental orders, and budget allocation within and between the Satrapies and the central ruling State) and collection of resources on different sets of principles e.g. medical science, astronomy, history, geometry and philosophy. A public library
9152-540: The use and instruction of the working classes." There was also the Artizans' library established at Birmingham in 1799. The entrance fee was 3 shillings, and the subscription was 1 shilling 6 pence per quarter. This was a library of general literature. Novels, at first excluded, were afterwards admitted on condition that they did not account for more than one-tenth of the annual income. In 1835, and against government opposition, James Silk Buckingham , MP for Sheffield and
9256-583: The veracity of this story is uncertain, paper started to be made in Samarkand soon after. In the 13th century, the knowledge and uses of paper spread from the Middle East to medieval Europe , where the first water-powered paper mills were built. Because paper was introduced to the West through the city of Baghdad , it was first called bagdatikos . In the 19th century, industrialization greatly reduced
9360-534: The water is drained through a fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed on the surface, it can be pressed and dried. The papermaking process developed in east Asia, probably China , at least as early as 105 CE , by the Han court eunuch Cai Lun , although the earliest archaeological fragments of paper derive from the 2nd century BCE in China. Although paper was originally made in single sheets by hand, today it
9464-851: The world supported by taxes was the Peterborough Town Library in Peterborough, New Hampshire . It was "established in 1833". This was a small public library. The first large public library supported by taxes in the United States was the Boston Public Library , which was established in 1848 but did not open its doors to the public until 1854. Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood , rags , grasses , herbivore dung , or other vegetable sources in water . Once
9568-410: The yield as chemical pulping, mechanical pulps is often cheaper. Mass-market paperback books and newspapers tend to use mechanical papers. Book publishers tend to use acid-free paper , made from fully bleached chemical pulps for hardback and trade paperback books. The production and use of paper has a number of adverse effects on the environment. Worldwide consumption of paper has risen by 400% in
9672-613: The young and adults. Public libraries typically allow users to borrow books and other materials outside the library premises temporarily, usually for a given period of time. They also have non-circulating reference collections and provide computer and Internet access to their patrons. The culmination of centuries of advances in the printing press , moveable type , paper , ink , publishing, and distribution, combined with an ever-growing information-oriented middle class , increased commercial activity and consumption, new radical ideas, massive population growth and higher literacy rates forged
9776-408: Was also uncommon for these libraries to have buildings designated solely as the library building during the 1790s, though in the 19th century, many libraries would begin building elaborate permanent residences. Bristol, Birmingham, and Liverpool were the few libraries with their own building. The accommodations varied from the shelf for a few dozen volumes in the country stationer's or draper's shop, to
9880-659: Was established in 1608 (six years after Thomas Bodley founded the Bodleian Library , which was open to the "whole republic of the learned") and Chetham's Library in Manchester, which claims to be the oldest public library in the English-speaking world, opened in 1653. Biblioteca Palafoxiana in Puebla City , Mexico, is recognized by UNESCO for being the first public library in the Americas . It
9984-683: Was established in Rome by the first century BC, in the Atrium Libertatis (see History of libraries § Classical period and Gaius Asinius Pollio § Later life ). However, the first major public library is said to have been established in Athens by Pisistratus in the sixth century BC (see Library of Alexandria § Historical background ), and by the end of the Hellenistic period , public libraries are said to have been widespread in
10088-477: Was first adopted in Germany in 1922 and generally spread as nations adopted the metric system. The largest standard size paper is A0 (A zero), measuring one square metre (approx. 1189 × 841 mm). A1 is half the size of a sheet of A0 (i.e., 594 mm × 841 mm), such that two sheets of A1 placed side by side are equal to one sheet of A0. A2 is half the size of a sheet of A1, and so forth. Common sizes used in
10192-665: Was founded in 1646 by Juan de Palafox y Mendoza . In his seminal work Advis pour dresser une bibliothèque (1644) the French scholar and librarian Gabriel Naudé asserted that only three libraries in all Europe granted in his times regular access to every scholar, namely the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, the Biblioteca Angelica in Rome, and the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Claude Sallier ,
10296-474: Was invented by German jurist Justus Claproth in 1774. Today this method is called deinking . It was not until the introduction of wood pulp in 1843 that paper production was not dependent on recycled materials from ragpickers . The word paper is etymologically derived from Latin papyrus , which comes from the Greek πᾰ́πῡρος ( pápūros ), the word for the Cyperus papyrus plant. Papyrus
10400-511: Was made for a library to be erected in the house of the Kalendars. A reference is made to a deed of that date by which it was "appointed that all who wish to enter for the sake of instruction shall have 'free access and recess' at certain times." In 1598, Francis Trigge established a library in a room above St. Wulfram's Church in Grantham, Lincolnshire and decreed that it should be open to
10504-552: Was not open for browsing. Once a pass to the library had been issued, the reader was taken on a tour of the library. Many readers complained that the tour was much too short. Similarly, the Bibliothèque du Roi in Paris required a potential visitor to be "carefully screened" and, even after this stipulation was met, the library was open only two days per week and only to view medallions and engravings, not books. However, up until
10608-616: Was open to the public and was the first Polish public library, the biggest in Poland, and one of the earliest public libraries in Europe. At the start of the 18th century, libraries were becoming increasingly public and were more frequently lending libraries . The 18th century saw the switch from closed parochial libraries to lending libraries. Before this time, public libraries were parochial in nature, and libraries frequently chained their books to desks. Libraries also were not uniformly open to
10712-480: Was originally located at the town centre of Marine Parade Housing Estate at 6 Marine Parade Central, Singapore 449411, before it shifted to its new premises at the community building. The library is Singapore's second-oldest public library and the only one built on reclaimed land . The Marine Parade Branch Library was renamed as Marine Parade Community Library when the National Library Board became
10816-437: Was the eleventh library to open, in 1857, after Winchester , Manchester , Liverpool , Bolton , Kidderminster , Cambridge , Birkenhead and Sheffield . The 1850 Act was noteworthy because it established the principle of free public libraries. In 1866, an amending Act was passed which eliminated the population limit for the establishment of a library and replaced the two-thirds majority previously required for adoption with
#210789