Mechanics Institutes

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Historically, Mechanics' Institutes were educational establishments formed to provide adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working people. As such, they were often funded by local industrialists on the grounds that they would ultimately benefit from having more knowledgeable and skilled employees (such philanthropy was shown by, among others, Robert Stephenson, James Nasmyth and Joseph Whitworth). The Mechanics' Institutes were used as 'libraries' for the adult working class.

The first institute was established in Glasgow in 1821, some 20 years after George Birkbeck had first instituted free lectures on arts, science and technical subjects. Image:Wakefield Museum.jpg

The London Mechanics' Institute (later Birkbeck College) followed in 1823, and the Mechanics' Institute in Manchester (later to become UMIST) in 1824. By the mid 19th century, there were over 700 institutes in towns and cities across the UK and overseas.

In Australia, for example, the first Mechanics' Institute appeared in Hobart in 1827, followed by the Melbourne Mechanics' Institute established in 1839 (renamed The Melbourne Athenaeum in 1873). From the 1850s, Mechanics' Institutes quickly spread throughout Victoria wherever a hall, library or school was needed. Nearly a thousand were built in Victoria but just over 500 remain today, and only six still operate their lending library services.

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