30 years to establish a library

As early as 1853 the Council resolved to establish a free public library and museum in Portsmouth. However, little happened. Even in 1860, when the library and museum of the defunct Portsmouth and Portsea Literary and Philosophical Society were offered to the Council on condition that the Public Libraries Act was adopted, they ‘declined to accept the burden’. It was proposed that the Act was adopted locally in both 1869 and 1875 but public meetings of rate payers rejected the idea as too expensive. It was not until 1882 that a council committee was established for libraries. The first public free service was opened in 1883 in a house on the site now occupied by the Guildhall. Branch libraries followed in Southsea and Kingston in 1893 and 1897 respectively, both housed above the local police stations. There are currently 9 council run libraries in Portsmouth. http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/learning/29.html