page_title: Mechanics' institutes
section_title: Existing
hierarchical_section_title: Mechanics' institutes / Existing
caption_attribution_description: English: Ballarat Mechanics Institute Sturt St Ballarat Victoria Australia
context_page_description: Mechanics' institutes are educational establishments, originally formed to provide adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working men. Similar organisation are sometimes simply called "institutes". As such, they were often funded by local industrialists on the grounds that they would ultimately benefit from having more knowledgeable and skilled employees. The mechanics' institutes were used as "libraries" for the adult working class, and provided them with an alternative pastime to gambling and drinking in pubs.
context_section_description: Thousands of mechanics' institutes still operate throughout the world—some as libraries, parts of universities, adult education facilities, theatres, cinemas, museums, recreational facilities, or community halls.
caption: Ballarat Mechanics' Institute building
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