I was wondering how liberally this term was applied to a very old institution. Today, libraries are a place with a very low bar of entry. Most libraries you can enter and read without even registering, and you can take books out for free after you do.

Were there standards that needed to be met in order to enter and study? Could you “check out” materials? How do we know that it didn’t operate more like an aggressively curated bookstore?

Thank you! I’m looking forward to hearing what you all know.