| Wolverhampton’s early libraries could only be used
by people who could afford to pay a subscription, so for
many people, they were unaffordable. This continued
until they were free to access, after the Free Libraries
Act had been adopted in the town. In the middle of the
19th century, books were expensive and so many people
could not afford them. At that time there was a great
interest in learning, and an interest in technology and
science. The area became prosperous because of the many
factories and businesses that flourished due to the
industrial revolution. A large number of people wanted
to learn new skills in order to get better paid jobs,
often with better working conditions. This only became
possible after the opening of the free library, which
also ran courses to provide all kinds of much-needed
skills. |
