IN 1853, Bolton's first public library was opened, the third town in the country to adopt the Public Libraries Act of 1850.
It was housed on the first floor of the Exchange Building, on the corner of Victoria Square and Newport Street (I am sure you recognise the picture; it now houses Nationwide Building Society).
A year or two later the whole building was taken over. In the annual report, printed in early 1854, it was stated that 61,184 volumes were issued in the Lending Library in the first 12 months, and the number of readers that year was 2,730.
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