The Impact of Your Gift
The library that once served our founding fathers now serves the nation as an internationally renowned research center. Since the days of Benjamin Franklin, the collection has grown to more than half a million rare books, manuscripts, pamphlets, broadsides, prints, and photographs, making the Library Company one of the nation’s largest collections of printed and graphic materials relating to early American history. There are many ways that you can support America’s first lending library.
Membership Benefits & Shareholding
Benjamin Franklin envisioned a library built by the collective efforts of ordinary people that could rival the best private collections. 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. The Library Company is proud to be member-supported since 1731!
Become a Shareholder in the Library Company with a one-time investment of $500 and annual dues starting at $175. Shareholders are the direct descendants of Benjamin Franklin and his Junto, who purchased shares in a joint-stock “library company” in 1731 to support the purchase, care, and mutual use of books. Each receives a numbered share certificate and documentation of its unique history of ownership.
Junto
The Junto is named for Benjamin Franklin’s circle of civic-minded tradesmen who committed themselves to improving the world around them. Our Junto is made up of donors who give $100 or more annually to help fund the acquisition of important research materials. Click here to learn more.
Annual Fund
Provide support for ongoing operations of America’s first lending library: conservation of books, prints and ephemera, fellowships, conferences, symposia, lectures, exhibitions, digitization, and digital humanities.
Gift and Tribute Shares
What to give the friend who has it all? How about a piece of American history in the form of a unique numbered share in the Library Company? We can help select a share owned by historic individuals whose particular biographies make it the most meaningful gift.
Endowment
Your endowment gift of any size can provide support for your favorite Library Company programs in perpetuity. Make a lasting investment in the Program in Early American Economy and Society, the Program in African American History, the Women’s History Program, the Visual Culture Program, or the Program in Popular Medicine.
Planned Giving
Bequests by historic benefactors—from Benjamin Franklin and James Rush on—have made the Library Company what it is today. Planning an estate gift not only puts you in their company, it may also produce tax advantages and income for yourself or others. As a steward of our future, you will be included in the James Rush Society.
Gifts in Kind
From the earliest days of the Library Company’s existence, our collections have grown through gifts and bequests of printed material and artifacts. A gift can be an effective way to ensure that precious items are expertly cared for and preserved, as well as digitized, exhibited, and made available to researchers. A gift of material can also have tax advantages.
For more information, please contact the Development Office:
215-546-3181 ext. 118
development@librarycompany.org