The Collaborative International Dictionary
Circulate \Cir"cu*late\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Circulated; p. pr. & vb. n. Circulating.] [L. circulatus, p. p. of circulare, v. t., to surround, make round, circulari, v. i., to gather into a circle. See Circle.]
To move in a circle or circuitously; to move round and return to the same point; as, the blood circulates in the body.
--Boyle.-
To pass from place to place, from person to person, or from hand to hand; to be diffused; as, money circulates; a story circulates.
Circulating decimal. See Decimal.
Circulating library, a library whose books are loaned to the public, usually at certain fixed rates.
Circulating medium. See Medium.
WordNet
n. library that provides books for use outside the building [syn: lending library]
Wikipedia
A circulating library (also known as lending libraries and rental libraries) were first and foremost a business. The intent was to profit from letting the public borrow books for a fee.
Usage examples of "circulating library".
I need not say that Miss Amelia did not lessen the attraction at the circulating library, which after her arrival was even more frequented by the officers than before.
We will be going to the shops and to a circulating library Valeria recommended to me.
Instead I paid a quiet visit to the circulating library to collect some books to take with me into the country.
Scattergood did what she could to induce her to walk out with her and take the air, but Judith felt herself quite unequal to it, and begged with so much earnestness to be left in solitude, that the good lady judged it wisest to humour her, and set off alone to try and find some new publication upon the shelves of the circulating library sufficient enthralling to distract even the most overwrought mind.
The front windows of a circulating library caught his eye, and suddenly he knew exactly where he needed to begin.
Neither was successful: Godwin's Circulating Library was still unable to supply Miss Wendover with a copy of Mrs Porter's latest novel.