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A "library" simply refers to a collection of materials.[1]

For example in the tech world, the second "L" in DLL stands for Dynamic Link Library, a modular collection of code.[2]

There is no implication of lending in the word or concept of a "library" by itself. An explicit example of this are private libraries, libraries held and used by individuals.

A public library is a library owned by and operated for the public, aka the people, and as a library of the people the people can take (and must return) books from the public library. This is where the common concept of "borrowing books from the library" comes from.

[1]: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/library

[2]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-clien...



Private membership libraries predated public libraries in most places bt by well over two centuries and often loaned. It was actually more common for people to share a library and borrow from than to accrue their own, as the cost of books was considerable.

For more on this, I'll cite the following:

https://reviews.history.ac.uk/review/303

Available from all good lending libraries, shadow libraries, and academic bookshops!




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