Parochial Libraries Act 1708

The Parochial Libraries Act 1708^[1]
Status: Amended
Parliament of Great Britain
Long title	An Act for the better Preservation of Parochial Libraries in England
Citation	7 Ann c 14

The Parochial Libraries Act 1708 (7 Ann c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. It governed parochial libraries established for ministers of the Church of England.

This Act was partly in force in Great Britain at the end of 2010.^[2]

The Act is one of the oldest pieces of legislation concerning libraries in the United Kingdom.

The preamble to the Act noted that throughout the country, many parish clergy were provided with stipends so small that they were not able to purchase books for their studies, and as a result many small charitable libraries for this purpose had been recently established.

In order to better protect these libraries from misuse or disposal, the Act stipulated that such establishments were to be maintained for the purpose for which they had been provided, and that the incumbent of the parish was to provide security, if so requested, "by bond or otherwise", to ensure this. The appropriate ordinary of the Church, or the supervising archdeacon, was given authority to enquire into the condition of parochial libraries and appoint visitors to examine them, to ensure that they were maintained in a good condition. On the death of an incumbent, or his removal, the library was to be locked and secured until they were replaced, to prevent the loss of the books, excepting any routine use made of the room it was stored in.

Within six months of taking up the incumbency of a parish with a parochial library, or of the establishment of a new library, the incumbent was to produce a catalogue of all the books then in the library and deposit it with the bishopric; likewise, all parochial libraries in existence as of the time of the Act were to have such a catalogue produced and deposited by 29 September 1709. As a counterpart to these periodic records, a current register of any donated books or other donations was to be kept, recording the name of the benefactor and the details of the gift.

It was also provided that the ordinary (and, if still living, the original benefactor) were able to make regulations for the use and upkeep of the library, providing that they did not conflict with the original terms of the donation. No book was permitted to be sold or otherwise disposed of without the consent of the ordinary, and then only in cases where it was a duplicate of an existing work. If any book was taken from the library, the incumbent was permitted to bring a lawsuit for damages in the name of the ordinary, any such damages (rated at three times the cost of the book plus legal fees) being used for the maintenance of the library, or to apply to a Justice of the Peace for a warrant to find the book and immediately return it to the library.

References

The Parochial Libraries Act 1708, as amended, from Legislation.gov.uk.

↑ The citation of this Act by this short title was authorised by section 1 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Short Titles Act 1896. Due to the repeal of those provisions, it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
↑ The Chronological Table of the Statutes, 1235 - 2010. The Stationery Office. 2011. ISBN 978-0-11-840509-6. Part I. Page 80, read with pages viii and x.

United Kingdom legislation

Pre-Parliamentary legislation	List of English statutes Charter of Liberties Magna Carta

Acts of Parliament by states preceding the Kingdom of Great Britain	Acts of the Parliament of England to 1483 1485–1601 1603–1641 Interregnum (1642–1660) 1660–1699 1700–1706 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland Acts of the Parliament of Ireland to 1700 1701–1800

Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain	1707–1719 1720–1739 1740–1759 1760–1779 1780–1800

Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	1801–1819 1820–1839 1840–1859 1860–1879 1880–1899 1900–1919 1920–1939 1940–1959 1960–1979 1980–1999 2000 to date Halsbury's Statutes UK Statute Law Database Short titles

Church of England measures	List Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919

Legislation of devolved institutions	Acts of the Scottish Parliament Acts and Measures of the National Assembly for Wales Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland Orders in Council for Northern Ireland

Orders-in-Council	Order in Council

Secondary legislation	United Kingdom Statutory Instruments Scottish Statutory Instruments Act of Sederunt, Act of Adjournal

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