Peterborough, New Hampshire founded the first tax-funded public library in 1833

Evidence

The honour of establishing the first truly public library, funded by local taxation with free access to its citizens, is generally assigned to the small New Hampshire town of Peterborough, which chose in 1833 to divert a sum provided for the development of local schools to the creation of a library. — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 684

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 684
• XREF: connects to: The public library was conceived as a moral reform instrument from its earliest plans — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 432; The tie between library and nation state was a nineteenth-century development — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 643