The Library Company was founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin and a group of his friends as a subscription library. Mostly artisans and tradesmen of moderate means, Franklin and his friends pooled their resources -- by purchasing shares in the new “library company” -- to build a more comprehensive collection than any one of them could have afforded alone. Since that time, thousands of individuals have contributed to the Library Company by becoming members. You, too, can take part in this illustrious, centuries-old tradition.

 

Become a Shareholder in the Library Company with a $200 investment. Your contribution will enable us to continue serving the public, free of charge, with wide-ranging reference services and quality cultural programming. In addition to a frame-ready share certificate, new Shareholders receive complimentary Sponsor benefits in the first year. Annual dues determine benefits in future years:

 

Associates • receive our semiannual Occasional Miscellany newsletter

($50-$99) • our in-depth and illustrated Annual Report

• invitations to exhibition openings, the Annual Meeting, the Annual

Dinner, lectures and other programs

• 20% discount on Library Company publications

• a Library Company bookmark

 

Sponsors • receive all Associate benefits

($100-$249) • plus recognition in the Annual Report and a selection of Library Company notecards

• and an invitation to a behind-the-scenes, guided tour of the Library

Company's book stacks

 

Patrons • receive all Sponsor benefits

($250 - $499) • and an invitation to a curator-led tour of a Library Company exhibition

 

Benefactors • receive all of Patron benefits

($500 - $999) • and an invitation to a special presentation of new acquisitions and/or

research discoveries

 

James Logan • receive all Benefactor benefits

Society Members • and an invitation to an exclusive day-trip to another institution or private

($1,000 and over) collection

 

The James Logan Society is named in honor of William Penn's secretary, who was the greatest book collector in Colonial Pennsylvania. Logan's library is preserved intact here at the Library Company.

 

Friends • receive all Associate benefits without purchasing a share

($50)

 

Membership in the Library Company makes a unique and memorable gift. Click here to purchase a membership as a gift.

 

There are three easy ways you can become a member of the Library Company of Philadelphia:

 

1. JOIN ONLINE!

 

Purchase a Share ($200)

Amount: U.S. Dollars

 

Become a Friend ($50)

Amount: U.S. Dollars

 

2. DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLE MEMBERSHIP FORM (PDF)

 

3. CALL AND JOIN WITH A CREDIT CARD

Call us at 215-546-3181 ext. 133

 

Already a Shareholder or Friend?
Click Here to renew your membership or to pay your annual dues.