I recently added a couple of new cards to my collection of vintage library cards. One is for the Pennsylvania Hospital Library dated Nov. 14, 1846 and the other is an unused 1876 library card for the Rochester (NY) Athenaeum & Mechanics Association. The Pennsylvania Hospital Library is the oldest medical library in the United States and was founded in 1762. The Rochester Athenaeum & Mechanics Association was formed in 1847 by combining the Rochester Athenaeum and the Rochester Mechanics' Literary Association. The new entity eventually morphed into the Rochester Institute of Technology. Both libraries required a fee to use them. For the Pennsylvania Hospital Library, the fee was $10 a year in 1846. The $2 annual fee in 1876 for the Rochester library also entitled one to vote in the annual election of officers. The library card included a voting coupon for this purpose.
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