History: Turn of the 20th Century

• Growing sense of costs, infrastructure needs

• Increasing burden on loaning libraries as demand increases:

  • “Hitherto the loaning library has not expected to get any return in money for its serves, although it is loaning … usually costly books. This is all very well, so long as the demand is not great, but … will have to meet the question of cost.” – Library Journal editorial *

• Publisher problems:

  • “…complaint ... under the Sherman anti-trust law is that periodical publishers have formed a trade combination to prevent libraries obtaining the advantages of low prices which they have previously had.” *

• * Lib J. 35(3):101-2, March 1910