parts that deviated from what would usually happen in reality. Society feared that people, mainly women, would not be able to differentiate between the realistic and completely fictional elements. Basically the argument against novels was that it would cause people to have unrealistic expectations of life. Circulating libraries were highly criticized at the height of their popularity for being providers of novels. The views about novels and their readers, sellers, and writers went beyond simple criticism to being slanderous. Publishing Some circulating libraries were publishers although many did not have widespread distribution for the works they printed. By the end of the 18th century, they had increased the amount of fiction they published. They favored publishing works from women whereas other publishers still favored works by men. It was common for people to publish their works anonymously. Circulating library publishers were known for publishing anonymous works, and it is believed that many of the ones they published were written by women. Circulating library publishers were not viewed as favorably as other major publishers since they printed works that were considered unsavory by society. People may have wanted their works to be anonymous to avoid the stigma of being associated with a publisher with a dubious reputation. By allowing for women to be published, and for works to be published anonymously, circulating libraries aided with the creation of sub-genres like the gothic novels. Decline By the beginning of the 20th century the ways people procured books had changed, and circulating libraries were no longer the favored way of obtaining them. The biggest contributor to the contraction of circulating libraries was the reduced price of books, which made them more accessible to the public, who became less reliant on circulating libraries. In an attempt to compensate for the loss of revenue, the subscription fees were lessened to daily rates down from monthly or yearly ones. Commercial circulating libraries were still common into the 20th century, although public libraries becoming commonplace contributed to their decline. Another contributing factor was the introduction of paperback books, which were less expensive to purchase. In the UK, the retail chain WHSmith ran a library scheme from 1860, which lasted until 1961, when the library was taken over by that of Boots the Chemist. This, founded in 1898 and at one time to be found in 450 branches, continued until the last 121 disappeared in 1966. References Libraries