Benjamin Franklin was in London where, as an apprenticed printer, he likely learned about the social library as a proficient method of book distribution. While apprenticed to his brother James, he was familiar with a small collection of reference books that was maintained at the office of the New England Courant for the benefit of its contributors and, presumably, for any others who might wish to consult it, since the titles were advertised to the reading public in the pages of the Courant. Thus, at an early age, Franklin became familiar with the need for extending the meager book resources of the community. But Franklin never claimed to have invented the social library form. For that, we must turn to the Philadelphia Library Company, which antedates all other such institutions in what is now the United States. Also, we learn that in 1739, Isaac Watts sent from London a gift of fourteen books intended for the newly formed Philogrammatican Library of Lebanon, Connecticut. This close connection with England suggests
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