Membership Law Libraries

After my post on "Surviving Membership Libraries" , David McFadden of the Leigh H. Taylor Law Library of the Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles contacted me in regard to surviving membership law libraries. He noted in specific that the Social Law Library of Boston was founded in 1803 as a membership library and continues as a dues-supported library. I had been aware that there had been a number of these libraries at one time but not that any had survived. I recalled that I had a receipt from the Law Library Company of Philadelphia that was dated March 14, 1825 (see above). After a Google search for the Law Library Company of Philadelphia I found out that the library, founded in 1802, continues in existence under the current name of Theodore F. Jenkins Memorial Law Library and that it considers itself to be America's first law library. I was delighted to find out from the library's web site that the history of the library has been well documented in a variety of formats by library director Regina Smith. Thanks David for providing me with the incentive to check out another kind of membership library.