State Library of Pennsylvania facts for kids

The State Library of Pennsylvania is a very important and large library in Pennsylvania. It's like a giant research center for the state! Before 1971, it was known as the Pennsylvania State Library. This library is part of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. It holds books and information on almost every topic.

The library provides facts and materials from its collections. It helps the state government, state organizations, and the public. It also keeps a special collection of all publications from Pennsylvania's state agencies. Plus, it's a main storage place for publications from the United States Government.

Its main goal is to give information to the state government and citizens. It also collects and saves Pennsylvania's written history. This includes materials published for, by, and about Pennsylvania.

Where to Find the State Library

The State Library of Pennsylvania is located in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. You can find it at Commonwealth Avenue and Walnut Street. It's inside the Forum Building. The library has been at this spot since 1931. This library is open to everyone all year long.

History of the Library

The State Library of Pennsylvania started a long time ago. It began as a library for the lawmakers of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. This is the group of people who make laws for Pennsylvania.

Early Days and Growth

The library's collection began on December 5, 1875. This was after the Pennsylvania General Assembly asked Benjamin Franklin for a copy of Statutes at Large and maps. These are important legal and reference books. Over the next ten years, the assembly spent a lot of money. They bought legal books, history books, geography, and science materials.

For a few years, the House and Senate bought books separately. They didn't work together. So, on February 28, 1816, Governor Simon Snyder signed a new law. This law combined the collections. It also set up a budget for buying more materials. And it allowed for a librarian to be hired.

In 1822, Pennsylvania's capital moved to Harrisburg. The library then moved to the second floor of the new capital building. During the 1870s, the library mostly focused on books for lawmakers. This meant the collection wasn't very diverse.

William Henry Egle's Impact

William Henry Egle was the state librarian from 1887 to 1898. He was very important in making the library's collection more varied. Egle believed it was important to collect newspapers. He wanted one or two newspapers from every county in Pennsylvania.

Egle also helped the library get a bigger space. He warned that the old library building was unsafe. There were fire risks and bad electrical wiring. Egle became good friends with the governor. In December 1894, Egle and 40 men moved over 100,000 books. They moved them to a new library building.

In February 1897, during Egle's time, the old capital building caught fire. This was where the library used to be. Luckily, the books moved to the new building were saved. But some important historical papers that stayed behind were burned. They had not been copied yet.

New Librarians and Collections

George E. Reed was the state librarian from 1899 to 1902. He created a catalog of the entire collection. This was not the first catalog. But it was the most accurate and complete one made so far.

The next state librarian was Thomas Lynch Montgomery. He made big improvements to the library. He was in charge from 1903 to 1921. He worked with other library groups. This helped people across the state get access to materials. The state library collection became much more diverse.

Montgomery was also key in starting the Pennsylvania State Archives in 1903. He also helped create the State Museum of Pennsylvania in 1905. These were once parts of the library. However, in 1941, these two divisions became separate from the State Library.