 For many young women , the allure of Lowell was in the opportunities afforded for further study and learning . Most had already completed some measure of formal education and were resolutely bent on self @-@ improvement . Upon their arrival , they found a vibrant , lively working class intellectual culture : workers read voraciously in Lowell ’ s city library and Reading Rooms , and subscribed to the large , informal “ circulating libraries ” which trafficked in novels . Many even pursued literary composition . Defying factory rules , operatives would affix verses to their spinning frames , “ to train their memories , ” and pin up mathematical problems in the rooms where they worked . In the evenings , many enrolled in courses offered by the mills and attended public lectures at the Lyceum , a theatre built at company expense ( offering 25 lectures per season for 25 cents ) . The Voice of Industry is alive with notices for upcoming lectures , courses , and meetings on topics ranging from astronomy to music . ( " Lectures and Learning " , Voice of Industry ) 
