Boots Book-Lovers' Library was a

circulating library A circulating library (also known as lending libraries and rental libraries) lent books to subscribers, and was first and foremost a business venture. The intention was to profit from lending books to the public for a fee. Overview Circulating li ...

run by

Boots the Chemist Boots UK Limited (formerly Boots the Chemists), trading as Boots, is a British health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom and other countries and territories including Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Thailand an ...

, a chain of

pharmacies Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links healt ...

in the United Kingdom. It began in 1898, at the instigation of

Florence Boot Florence Anne Boot, Lady Trent (1863–1952) was a Jersey businesswoman and philanthropist. She assisted her husband, Jesse Boot, in running Boots chemists after their marriage in 1886. Florence was responsible for diversifying the firm's retail ...

(née Florence Annie Rowe), and closed in 1966, following the passage of the

Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964c 75 is an act of the United Kingdom Parliament. It created a statutory duty for local authorities in England and Wales "to provide a comprehensive and efficient library A library is a collection o ...

, which required councils to provide free public libraries. Boot was married to

Jesse Boot Jesse Boot, 1st Baron Trent (2 June 1850 – 13 June 1931) transformed The Boots Company, founded by his father, John Boot, into a national retailer, which branded itself as "Chemists to the Nation". Biography Boot sold his controlling intere ...

, the son of the founder of the company. The lending libraries were established within branches of Boots across the country, employing dedicated library staff whose training included examinations on both librarianship and literature.Dugan, page 169 Boots' libraries displayed books for browsing on open shelvesDugan, page 153; Winter, page 32 at a time when many public libraries had closed access. A catalogue of the books available was first published in 1904. Subscriptions were available in Classes A and B, the latter being restricted to borrowing books at least one year old, as well as a premium 'On Demand' subscription.Dugan, page 178; Winter, page 48 Boots Booklovers Library example

Books carried the 'green shield' logo on the front and an

eyelet Curtain grommets, used among others in shower curtains. A grommet is a ring or edge strip inserted into a hole through thin material, typically a sheet of textile fabric, sheet metal or composite of carbon fiber, wood or honeycomb. Grommets ar ...

at the top of the spine.Winter, page 38 Membership tokens were rectangles of ivorineDugan, page 163 with a string similar to a

Treasury tag A treasury tag, India tag, or string tag is an item of stationery used to fasten sheets of paper together or to a folder. It consists of a short length of string, with metal or plastic cross-pieces at each end that are orthogonal to the string. ...

; the string could be secured through the eyelet so that the token acted as a bookmark.NottsLit; Potter Boots also briefly reprinted classic books at the start of the 20th century under the imprint 'Pelham Library',Krygier, John,
Pelham Library
, ''A Series of Series'' () named after the flagship Boots shop on Pelham Street in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

,Winter, page 73 and later sold books as 'Boots the Booksellers'.

In popular culture

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

places Boots' libraries at the head of an ironic list of British national emblems: The stage directions for the opening scene of Sir

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

's 1936 play ''

Still Life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

'' show the protagonist Laura Jesson 'reading a Boots library book at which she occasionally smiles'.Dugan, page 170 His 1919 play '' I'll Leave it to You'' contains a character who comments on another's intention to borrow a book from Boots: "Oh, you belong to Boots too, I did for years—there's something so fascinating in having those little ivory marker things with one's name on them, but, of course, I had to give it up when the crash came." .I'll Leave it to You, Act I In the 1945 cinema adaptation ''

Brief Encounter ''Brief Encounter'' is a 1945 British romantic drama film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play ''Still Life''. Starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, and Joyce Carey, ...

'', Laura is seen visiting a branch of Boots to exchange her library book as part of her weekly routine.Dugan, page 170; Snoek-Brown, Jennifer
'A brief encounter with a librarian'
''Reel Librarians'' (2011) In the 1948 film ''

Here Come the Huggetts ''Here Come the Huggetts'' is a 1948 British comedy film, the first of the The Huggetts (film series), Huggetts series, about a working class English family. All three films in the series were directed by Ken Annakin and released by Gainsborough ...

'', Jane Huggett is librarian of the Boots Lending Library.

In popular culture

References

Further reading