circulating library

American  

noun

1. a library whose books can be borrowed by its members or subscribers.

2. lending library.

---

circulating library British  

noun

1. another name (esp US) for lending library

2. a small library circulated in turn to a group of schools or other institutions

3. a rare name for subscription library

---

Etymology

Origin of circulating library

First recorded in 1735–45

Example Sentences

Among its innovations, the store established a circulating library for travelers wintering in Pasadena’s grand resort hotels, who often preferred to rent a book rather than lug it home.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2022

There are also broadsides, pamphlets, newspaper clippings and other material that Hooker kept in a kind of circulating library, many with “I.B. Hooker, please return” marked in her handwriting.

From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2017

The Imperial Library was what’s known as a circulating library.

From Washington Post • Apr. 2, 2016

Books were expensive, but for a modest fee you could join a circulating library.

From Slate • Feb. 9, 2016

The young librarian of the circulating library of a Sunday-school, whose pupils came largely from the tenement-houses, was occupied a considerable part of a day in covering and arranging the books.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various