While bookstores were popular places of leisure for the wealthy, circulating libraries of the Georgian era rose in popularity across all income levels, at least for those who could or wished to read. Reading material of all kinds was available, from periodicals to novels. Looking for the latest publication of your favourite sermons? Check the circulating library! Eager for the latest Radcliffe novel? Check the circulating library!

Rather than see libraries as a money drain, publishers came to recognize that libraries were their best customers. Hot off the press, many publications went straight to the local circulating libraries. The printing material was different, of course, much cheaper in both paper and binding for the libraries than for the bookstores and private owner. Libraries saw paper binding, while bookstores and home libraries saw leather and cloth bindings.

It was not uncommon for libraries to sell for a low fee the books that had become too worn and tattered to lend, and thus readers could purchase a book for the home library at an affordable cost, and the library would order a new print from the publisher.

Many libraries took on the job of being a small press of their own to bypass the publishers altogether. These small presses could then publish authors of their choosing that might have been overlooked by more traditional publishers, namely women authors.

Not to be missed is this link, which dips into the Minerva Press and the Temple of Muses:

Random Bits of Fascination: Circulating Libraries in the Regency

Or about this one that covers the pricing information and Jane Austen's own words about circulating libraries:

Jane Austen's World: The Circulating Library in Regency Times

Banner image: Circulating library of Messrs Lackington Allen & Co, 1809. Image in the public domain