This is a rather esoteric database, but it may interest a few people. What Middletown Read is a database that tracks the borrowing records of the Muncie (Indiana) Public Library between 1891 and 1902. You see how many times a particular book was checked out, what dates, and by whom. Not only the patrons' names are recorded, but also their age, race, gender, occupation (and whether that made them blue or white collar, skilled, semi-skilled, or unskilled), and their names and how they signed them.
This will interest most anyone with ancestors in Muncie, Indiana during those years. It may also be of some interest to librarians or to anyone studying changes in the borrowing patterns of library patrons.
You can access What Middletown Read at http://bsu.edu/libraries/wmr/index.php
My thanks to Jane Fraser for telling me about this resource.
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