Unitarian Activism and the Politics of the Subscription Library

Abstract

The subscription library, a characteristic expression of the associational culture of the Georgian town, made an important contribution to the dissemination of texts in the later eighteenth century. Although these libraries were often imagined as spaces of free enquiry, they were not immune from the intense religious and political controversies of the time. The Suffolk Public Library, established at Bury St Edmunds in 1790, is a case in point. This chapter examines the motives of the library’s founders, looks closely at its membership, regulations, and committee structure, and offers an analysis of the acquisitions recorded in its early catalogues. Using Bury as an example, it assesses the part played by the subscription library in a contemporary battle of the books.