London Institution for the Promotion of Literature and Useful Knowledge 

London Institution for the Promotion of Literature and Useful Knowledge – The Institution was founded in January 1806. The poet-scholar Richard Porson was the first librarian; after Porson’s death, William Maltby (mentioned above) was appointed, serving from 1809 to 1834. The Institution was a forerunner, in some respects, of London University, serving as an educational outlet (primarily in its acquisition of books) for dissenters, establishing itself in Finsbury Circus in 1815.