The Franklin Public Library, on Main Street in Franklin, MA, is listed as the first public library in the United States. The library is appropriately named after Benjamin Franklin who, in 1731, composed the charter of the Library Company of Philadelphia. It was this charter that introduced the concept of a subscription service for members of a library to pool funds, purchase books, and lend them to one another. It is amusing to note that it's Franklin who, quoting Shakespeare's "Hamlet" wrote in his Poor Richard's Almanac, "Neither a lender nor a borrower be." He was talking about money, of course, but it's an amusing thought in the context of a library.
Popular folklore attributes the concept of a library to Franklin, however that is clearly not historically accurate. In point of fact, the Royal Library of Alexandria was built before 283 BC and was, at the time, the largest collection of books in the world. While open to scholars from around the world for on-site research, that library did not permit the borrowing of scrolls (or books), however it does serve as the model for modern mega-repositories such as the Library of Congress or the Vatican Library. Thus, while Ben certainly brought the concept to the American Colonies, the overarching concept of a library pre-dated him by at least 2000 years.
Post processing today started with a brilliant warm filter in Topaz Adjust. I then adjusted adaptive exposure, contrast, protect highlights, and strength. A deep blue filter and a slight levels adjustment was added in PSE.
