Tabard Inn Library
| Tabard Inn Library | |
|---|---|
 Tabard Inn Library Bookcase | |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Type | Circulating library |
| Established | 1892 |
| Dissolved | 1902 |
| Branches | 1,000+ stations |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Books, periodicals |
| Size | 25,000+ volumes |
| Access and use | |
| Members | 100,000+ at peak |
| Other information | |
| Director | Seymour Eaton |
| Parent organization | Booklovers' Library (after 1902) |
The Tabard Inn Library was a circulating library in the United States of America, founded in 1902 by Seymour Eaton[1]. The manufacturer was located in Philadelphia, PA and under the management of The Book Lovers Library (publisher of Booklovers Magaizine[2]) who claimed it was "The Largest Circulating Library in the World" [3]. It's namesake was based on The Tabard Inn located in Southwark, South London depicted on some of its bookplates [4] [5] [6].
Operation
Store-keepers could purchase the library cabinet exchange station for $100. The books could be purchased for $1 each in lots of 25, 50, and 100 from a selection of 2,000 books [7]. There were multiple catalogs to choose from, including a catalog for French foreign literature for books numbered 7001 through 7093 [2].
Members would purchase a book as membership either at an exchange station, or through the mail[8]. They could exchange the book without any additional identification at a Tabard Inn Library for nominal fee. It was up to the library owners who were offered examples to charge 5 or 10 cents for exchanges, 1 to 2 cents per day, or 5 or 10 cents per week [7]. Membership fees could range from $1 to $5. Book checks were purchased and deposited into compartment on the book case when selecting a book.
Discontinuing service was done by exchanging a book and a five cent exchange fee in return for a book check. The book check could be turned in for a book at a later time without the exchange fee [9].
Appearance
It's unique appearance was a tall wooden bookcase with a hip roof including two link dormers. A message at the top, just under the roof, wrapped around each side with the text: "The Best Reading Rooms In the United Staes Are the Homes of the American People". It could be rotated to see books available on each side [10].
The books were kept on the shelves in black boxes with a red strip of tape around the bottom, and a four digit number below the tape. Advertisements often at the company's motto: "With all the RED TAPE on the BOX." [11]
Precursor to Public Libraries
In Front Royal, Virginia, a Tabard Inn library had been setup in 1903 by Mrs. B. M. Cone with the initial plan of $1.50 for membership with exchange tickets (aka book checks) for 5 cents each, or six for 25 cents when a Library was not present in the rural mountain town. The town would receive 130 to 150 books each month, replacing books that were read [12]. Trout & Turner, a Druggist on Main Street, often advertised membership for $1.35 [13].
In Marion County, Indiana membership was advertised at $5 for over 100,000 volumes. The Indianapolis Times newspaper purchased memberships and provided them to anyone subscribing to the paper for a year - so long as they paid a 50 cent registration fee once they received their membership certificate in 1903. They advertised access to 34 substations in the area [14].
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Tabard Inn Library ad for patrons -
Tabard Inn Library ad for store keepers -
Tabard Inn Library bookplate -
Tabard Inn Library - Managed by The Booklovers' Library -
Tabard Inn Library -
Tabard Inn Library For Members Only -
The Bookloves Magazine - The Two Pacifics (1904) -
The Booklovers Library bookplate
Notes
- ^ The Literary Digest (1902)
- ^ a b Kuenzig Books (2025)
- ^ The Booklovers' Library
- ^ Tabard Inn Library Bookplate 1
- ^ Tabard Inn Library Bookplate 2
- ^ Tabard Inn Library Bookplate 3
- ^ a b The Tabard Inn Library (October 1906)
- ^ The Metropolitan (1905)
- ^ The Tabard Inn Library (Circa 1904)
- ^ Nix (2009)
- ^ Jocelyn Lewis (2018)
- ^ Warren Sentinel (1903-02-27)
- ^ Trout & Turner (1906-02-27)
- ^ The Indianapolis News (1903)
References
- Nix, Larry (2009). "The Tabard Inn Library". The Library History Buff. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- The Tabard Inn Library (October 1906). "The Tabard Inn Library ad 1906". Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- The Tabard Inn Library (c. 1904). "Tabard Inn Library Bookplate". Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
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- The Booklovers' Library. "Tabard Inn Library Picture of Tabard Inn Yard". Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- "Largest circulating library in the world". The Literary Digest. Vol. 24, no. 16. 1902. pp. 534–535.
- Staff writer (1903-02-27). "Tabard Inn Library Opens New Station". The Warren Sentinel. Virginia Chronicle. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- Trout & Turner (1906-12-21). "Trout & Turner Tabard Inn Library ad". The Warren Sentinel. Virginia Chronicle. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- Jocelyn Lewis (2018-11-29). "The Tabard Inn Library". Indiana State Library. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- The Indianapolis News (1903-12-19). "Advertisement for Annual Subscription to The Indianapolis News and Tabard Inn Library". The Indianapolis News. Indiana Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- Seymour Eaton, Librarian. "[Booklovers Reading Club] The CATALOGUE of Foreign Literature Part I: FRENCH". Kuenzig Books. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- Tabard Inn Library. "Tabard Inn Library Bookplate 1". Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- Tabard Inn Library. "Tabard Inn Library Bookplate 2". Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- Tabard Inn Library. "Tabard Inn Library Bookplate 3". Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). Retrieved 2025-02-15.
