When the books finally arrived, they were kept at a local reverend's home, and for a while the reverend would only allow fellow Congregationalists to use them. Books from Ben Franklin inside the Franklin Public Library. They need a bell like a toad needs a tail.' I think he was put out but the whole request really," Earls told WBZ. They don't need a bell, they'll need to build a steeple. Franklin's nephew Jonathan Williams helped execute the delivery to the town, although Earls says he did seem annoyed by the whole ordeal. Although the books did not come from Franklin's personal collection, he made sure they contained writings on government, philosophy, and religion. The budget was 25 pounds, about $16,000 in today's money. Richard Price, Franklin sent 116 volumes to the town of Franklin. Books were everything," said Earls, who was born and raised in Franklin and has worked at the library for 37 years. Books and libraries were his religion really. It was an excellent gift to have given us. "His statement was 'sense being preferable to sound.' What he wanted to do was give the town a collection of books rather than a bell. He thought the money would be better spent on books. (WBZ-TV)īut Benjamin Franklin didn't think the people of Franklin needed a bell. They were building a new meeting house and a bell was crucially important because that's how you gathered citizens." A portrait of Ben Franklin inside the Franklin Public Library. "Someone got the idea, we don't know, who of approaching Franklin and telling him the honor that was bestowed upon him, and would he want to contribute something to this newly founded town," Earls explained. But the town expected Franklin to reciprocate. While we don't know who did it, we do know why - to impress Benjamin Franklin, who had just gained support from France for the American Revolution. So that is how we got our name, and we don't know who did it," says Vicki Earls, Head of Reference Services at the Franklin Public Library. Somewhere between leaving Franklin and arriving at the State House of Massachusetts in Boston, they crossed out the name Exeter and wrote in the name Franklin. "The name of the town on the original paperwork is Exeter. FRANKLIN (CBS) - The oldest, continuously operating public library in America is in Franklin, a town that has its own theme song!
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