circulating library

American  

noun

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

2. lending library.

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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

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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

The 100,000 square-foot renovated circulating library, designed by the lesser-known Dutch firm Mecanoo, will not be without eye-catching design features, including what the library describes as the only free, publicly accessible roof terrace in Midtown.

From New York Times • Sep. 13, 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 great novelists have generally written rapidly, rather too rapidly; but such a cataract of ink as these heroes of the circulating library spill is absolutely inconsistent with even second-rate work.

From The Victorian Age The Rede Lecture for 1922 by Inge, William Ralph