39°56′52″N 75°09′47″W / 39.94779°N 75.16306°W
| Library Company of Philadelphia | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | 1314 Locust Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Established | 1731 |
| Collection | |
| Size | 500,000 books; 70,000 other items |
| Access and use | |
| Circulation | Non-circulating collection |
| Population served | Free and open to the public |
| Members | Benjamin Franklin originally |
| Other information | |
| Director | Interim |
| Employees | 25 |
| Website | http://www.librarycompany.org/ |
The Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP) is a non-profit organization based on Locust Street in Center City Philadelphia. Founded as a library in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, the Library Company of Philadelphia has accumulated one of the most significant collections of historically valuable manuscripts and printed material in the United States.
The current collection size is approximately 500,000 books and 70,000 other items, including 2,150 items that once belonged to Franklin, major collections of 17th-century and Revolution-era pamphlets and ephemera, maps, and whole libraries assembled in the 18th and 19th centuries. The collection also includes first editions of Moby-Dick and Leaves of Grass.[1]
- ^ Wolf, Edwin (1976). At the Instance of Benjamin Franklin: A Brief History of the Library Company of Philadelphia (PDF). Philadelphia: The Library Company of Philadelphia. ISBN 0-914076-73-6.