Mechanics' Institutes
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Historically, '''Mechanics' Institutes''' were educational establishments formed to provide [[adult education]], particularly in technical subjects, to working men. As such, they were often funded by local industrialists on the grounds that they would ultimately benefit from having more knowledgeable and skilled employees (such [[philanthropy]] was shown by, among others, [[Robert Stephenson]], [[James Nasmyth]] and [[Joseph Whitworth]]). The Mechanics' Institutes were used as 'libraries' for the adult working class, and provided them with an alternative pastime to gambling and drinking in pubs.
==Origins==
The first institute was established in [[Glasgow]] in 1821, some 20 years after [[George Birkbeck]] had first instituted free lectures on arts, science and technical subjects.
[[Image:Wakefield Museum.jpg|thumb| Wakefield's Mechanics' Institution (1825) put to a new use in the 21st century]]
The [[London]] Mechanics' Institute (later [[Birkbeck, University of London|Birkbeck College]]) followed in 1823, and the Mechanics' Institute in [[Manchester]] (later to become [[UMIST]]) in 1824.<ref>{{cite book |author=Kidd, Alan J. |title=Manchester (Town and city histories) |publisher=Ryburn |location=Manchester |year=1993 |isbn=1-85331-016-6 | pages = pp 57-8}}</ref> By the mid 19th century, there were over 700 institutes in towns and cities across the UK and overseas.
In [[Australia]], for example, the first Mechanics' Institute appeared in Hobart in 1827, followed by the [http://www.sydneymsa.com.au Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts] in 1833, [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] School of Arts in 1835, then the [[Melbourne]] Mechanics' Institute established in 1839 (renamed The [[Athenaeum, Melbourne|Melbourne Athenaeum]] in 1873). From the 1850s, Mechanics' Institutes quickly spread throughout [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] wherever a hall, library or school was needed. Over 1200 Mechanics' Institutes were built in Victoria but just over 500 remain today, and only six still operate their lending library services.<ref>{{cite book |author=Lowden, Bronwyn |title=Mechanics' Institutes, Schools of Arts, Athenaeums, etc.: An Australian Checklist |publisher=Lowden Publishing Co. |location=Donvale, Australia |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-920753-07-8 | pages = pp 44-79}}</ref>
[[Image:Manchester Mechanics Institute (1825).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Manchester Mechanics' Institute, Cooper Street in 1825]]
The exponential growth and needs of the [[Industrial Revolution]] created a new class of reader in Britain by the end of the eighteenth century, ‘mechanics,’ who were civil and mechanical engineers in reality. The [[Birmingham]] Brotherly Society was founded in 1796 by local mechanics to fill this need, and was the forerunner of mechanics institutes, which grew in England to over seven hundred in number by 1850<ref>Kilgour, Frederick, The Evolution of the Book. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 99.</ref>.
G. Jefferson explains that:
<blockquote>"The first phase, the Mechanics Institute movement, grew in an atmosphere of interest by a greater proportion of the population in scientific matters revealed in the public lectures of famous scientists such as Faraday. More precisely, as a consequence of the introduction of machinery a class workmen emerged to build, maintain and repair, the machines on which the blessing of progress depended, at a time when population shifts and the dissolving influences of industrialization in the new urban areas, where these were concentrated, destroyed the inadequate old apprentice system and threw into relief the connection between material advancement and the necessity of education to take part in its advantages"
<ref name=Jefferson>Jefferson, G.. Libraries and Society. Cambridge & London, Great Britain: James Clark & CO. LTD., 1969, p. 21.</ref>. </blockquote>
Small tradesmen and workers could not afford subscription libraries, so for their benefit, benevolent groups and individuals created "mechanics' institutes" that contained inspirational and vocational reading matter, for a small rental fee. Later popular non-fiction and fiction books were added to these collections. The first known library of this type was the Birmingham Artisans' Library, formed in 1823. [[Image:Wakefield Museum.jpg|thumb| Wakefield's Mechanics' Institution (1825) put to a new use in the 21st century]]Some mechanics' libraries only lasted a decade or two, many eventually became public libraries or were given to local public libraries after the Public Libraries Act passed. Though use of the mechanics’ library was limited, the majority of the users were favorable towards the idea of free library use and service, and were a ready to read public when the establishment of free libraries occurred<ref name=Harris>Harris, Michael. History Of Libraries In The Western World. 4th ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1995, p. 153.</ref>.
Beyond a lending library, Mechanics institutes, also provided lecture courses, laboratories, and in some cases contained a museum for the member’s entertainment and education. The [[Glasgow]] Institute, founded in 1823, not only had all three, it was also provided free light on two evenings a week from the local Gas Light Company. Founded at the same time as in Glasgow, the London Mechanics Institute installed gas illumination by 1825, revealing the demand and need for members to use the books<ref>Kilgour, Frederick, The Evolution of the Book. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 99.</ref>.
==Existing Mechanics' Institutes==
There are 1000's of Mechanics' Institutes which are still operating throughout the world. Some as libraries, parts of universities or adult education facilities, theatres, cinemas, museums, recreational facilities or community halls.
'''Australia'''
*[http://www.library.org.au/ Ballarat Mechanics' Institute]
*[http://kapana.customer.netspace.net.au/Briag2.html Briagolong Mechanics' Institute]
*[http://www.kilmore.info/mechanicsinstitute/ Kilmore Mechanics' Institute & Free Library]
*[http://home.vicnet.net.au/~mivic/index.htm Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria]
*[[Mechanics' Institute, Sorrento]]
*[[Prahran Mechanics' Institute]]
*[http://www.sydneymsa.com.au Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts]
'''Canada'''
*[http://www.atwaterlibrary.ca Atwater Library of the Mechanics' Institute], Montreal, Quebec
'''USA'''
*[[General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York]]
*[[San Francisco Mechanics' Institute|Mechanics' Institute]], San Francisco, California
==Historical Mechanics' Institutes==
*[http://www.lostrivers.ca/points/mechinstit.htm Toronto, Canada]
*[http://www.collectionscanada.ca/9/12/p12-297-e.html Peterborough, Ontario, Canada]
*[[Swindon]], UK, [http://www.new-mechanics.com Mechanics' Institute]
*[http://www.thisislutterworth.com/cms.cfm?pageid=51 Lutterworth, UK]
*[http://www.wishful-thinking.org.uk/genuki/DBY/Eyam/MechanicsInstitute.html Eyam, UK]
*[http://www.londonancestor.com/iln/courtauld.htm Essex, UK]
*[http://www.richmondcitywatch.com/edu_vcumed_va_mechanics_institute.php Richmond, Virginia, USA]
*[http://www.rit.edu/~620www/Manual/sectionA/HISTORY.html Rochester, NY, USA] renamed to [[Rochester Institute of Technology|Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)]] in 1944
*[[Leeds]] Mechanics' Institute ([[West Yorkshire]]) designed by [[Cuthbert Brodrick]], will house [[Leeds City Museum]] to open in August 2008[http://www.leeds.gov.uk/page.aspx?pageID=68e29537-a73e-4eb1-8391-8bb97261ba36]
== See also ==
*[[Cultural institutions in Australia]]
==References==
{{refs}}
[[Category:School types]]
[[Category:Libraries in Australia]]
[[Category:Literary societies]]