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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:'A free public library' in Freetown at the turn of the twentieth century: an interesting piece from the Sierra Leone press
Author:Goerg, OdileISNI
Year:2012
Periodical:Mande Studies
Volume:14
Pages:9-23
Language:English
Geographic term:Sierra Leone
Subjects:Krio
public libraries
gender discrimination
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/44080970
Abstract:In 1906, an article was published in the Sierra Leone Weekly News (SLWN) which was entitled: 'A free public library.' This article is used here to address questions of literacy, the reading community, the purpose of education in Freetown, and the meaning of reading in Sierra Leone at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1906, a free public library was opened in the house of the late Benjamin Brown at 15 Howe Street, in the centre of Freetown. According to SLWN it was formally opened on the 1st of August. The funding had been provided by the Hon. James Jonathan Thomas, a wealthy member of the Wesleyan Church and an eminent member of the Krio community. The reading public was to be formed by young men. Women were not allowed in the reading room in Freetown. However, a lending service was organized for them specifically. App., notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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