The Bodley Club Library was a service similar to

The Tabard Inn Library The Tabard Inn Library was a circulating subscription library with numerous exchange stations (also known as sub-stations) across the United States. It was founded in March 1902 by Seymour Eaton. The library operated as a commercial lending se ...

, but focused on libraries where books appeared in blue covers to prevent them from being turned in at Tabard Inn library stations, as public libraries tended to lend the books out free of charge. The

Booklovers' Library Booklover's Library was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It published a monthly magazine, ''Booklovers Magazine''. The Booklovers' library had an invite-only membership and was a home library service that started in 1900. The Book Lover's ...

owned both the

Tabard Inn Library The Tabard Inn Library was a circulating library, circulating subscription library with numerous exchange stations (also known as sub-stations) across the United States. It was founded in March 1902 by Seymour Eaton. The library operated as a co ...

and the Bodley Club Library.

Criticisms

Limited Quantities for Popular Books: Public libraries faced challenges in ordering large quantities of books from the Booklovers Library via. the Bodley Club, as demand typically peaked for about four months in the commercial market of

. Public libraries had to wait until this demand declined before acquiring large quantities, yet public interest often persisted for several months beyond this period. Issues with Slow Additions and Decreasing Quality: The Literature Committee at Eau Claire Public Library faced challenges after the initial selection of books was exhausted, with new additions not arriving quickly enough each month to justify the continued cost of the service. Furthermore, the newer books were less popular, causing circulation to drop to 541 in the six months leading up to the librarian's annual report in June 1904, compared to 2,062 in the first six months after the service began. As a result, the committee decided to discontinue the service.

Locations

Thirty six libraries were reported in 1904 as using the Bodley Club library, primarily in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

except for Savanna, Georgia and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Los Gatos Los Gatos (; ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of t ...

and Santa Cruz. * California:

, Santa Cruz * Connecticut: Stamford ( Ferguson Library), Norwalk, Torrington * Delaware:

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

, Wilmington * Georgia:

Savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

* Illinois:

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

, LaSalle * Indiana: Elwood, Muncie * Iowa: Ottumwa, Vinton * Kansas: Lawrence, Leavenworth,

Paola Paola is a female given name, the Italian form of the name Paula. In Greek it is Polina. Notable people with the name include: People In arts and entertainment * Paola Del Medico (born 1950), Swiss singer *Paola e Chiara, pop music duo consist ...

* Massachusetts: Beverly, Medford,

New Bedford New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, New Bedford had a ...

, Pittsfield (

Berkshire Athenaeum The original Berkshire Athenaeum, now known as the Bowes Building, is a nineteenth century building that still stands on Park Square in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in the Berkshires. Like many New England libraries, the Berkshire Athenaeum started ...

), Walpole,

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

* Michigan:

Lansing Lansing () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. It is the sixth-most populous city in Michigan with a popul ...

* Missouri:

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

* New Hampshire:

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

* New Jersey:

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

* New York:

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, Johnstown * Ohio East Liverpool ( Carnegie Library), Mt. Vernon,

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

( Reuben McMillan Library) * Rhode Island: Pawtucket ( Deborah Cook Sayles Public Library) * Vermont:

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

( Rutland Free Library) * Wisconsin:

Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare". Place names (Canada) Communities *Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...

( Eau Claire Public Library)

References

{{Reflist Commercial_circulating_libraries Libraries in Philadelphia Subscription_libraries_in_the_United_States Subscription libraries 1903 establishments in Pennsylvania Bookselling Libraries established in 1903 Libraries disestablished in the 20th century 1910 disestablishments in Pennsylvania