The Library Company Of Philadelphia

The Library Company of Philadelphia is an independent research library specializing in American history and culture from the 17th through the 19th centuries. Open to the public free of charge, the Library Company houses an extensive collection of rare books, manuscripts, broadsides, ephemera, prints, photographs, and works of art. Founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, the Library Company is America's oldest cultural institution and served as the Library of Congress from the Revolutionary War to 1800. The Library Company was the largest public library in America until the Civil War. The mission of the Library Company is to foster scholarship in and increase public understanding of American history before 1900 by preserving, interpreting, making available, and augmenting the valuable materials in our care, thus providing meaningful stewardship of the legacy of founder Benjamin Franklin.