Established 1763 Budget $2.9M | Circulation 500,000 | |
 | ||
Location Reading, Pennsylvania, USA Branches 1 Main Branch, 3 Sub Branches, 1 Bookmobile Population served 87,812 (City of Reading); 415,000 (Berks County) | ||
The Reading Public Library (RPL) is the main public library of the City of Reading, Pennsylvania and the district library center (DLC) of Berks County. RPL’s services and collections serve the City of Reading, its suburbs, greater Berks County, and beyond.
Contents
History
Founded as an English subscription library in 1763, Reading Public Library is one of the oldest, though not continuously operating, libraries in the United States. It wasn’t until 1913 that the Main Library as it currently stands was built through the generosity of Andrew Carnegie. After a major fundraising campaign in 1989, the Main Library was renovated and modernized through a variety of projects during 1990-1993. It is the sixth oldest public library in the United States.
Branch Libraries
An increase in the number of users and the changing collection needs over the years have prompted the construction of three Branches. Southeast Branch Library (1974), Northeast Branch Library (1974), and Northwest Branch Library (1939). City Bookmobile services were added in 1951. The Main Library, all three Branches, and the Bookmobile readily share books and other materials to further facilitate complete coverage of the community's needs.
Website
The Reading Public Library website provides access to the library's catalog and to online collections and subscription databases. It also includes information on upcoming events such as free book talks, instruction sessions, and visiting speakers and authors. The online catalog ALIN allows users to search RPL’s holdings of books and other materials as well as those of all participating libraries in Berks County.
In conjunction with Access Pennsylvania, RPL gives library cardholders free access via POWER Library to hundreds of current and historical magazines, newspapers, journals, and reference books in subscription databases, including EBSCOhost, Grove Art Online, Grove Music Online, and ERIC.
Other databases available only from within the library include Ancestry Library, Foundation Directory, Reference USA, and Reading Eagle archives.