St. Louis Public Library (SLPL) was established in 1865 as the Public School Library Society of St. Louis. In the beginning, it was a subscription Library open only to paying members. Then it opened to the public for reference and reading on the premises in 1874. With a mission to "provide learning resources and information services that support and improve individual, family and community life", SLPL now has 17 locations across the city, over four million books and items, 2.3 million visitors annually and 83,000 Library cardholders.