Carnegie library
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[[Image:Carnegie lib 700 2.jpg|thumb|A Carnegie library, opened in 1913 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, designed in Spanish Colonial style.]]
'''Carnegie libraries''' are [[libraries]] which were built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist [[Andrew Carnegie]]. More than 2,500 Carnegie libraries were built, including those belonging to [[Public library|public]] and [[university library]] systems. Carnegie earned the nickname ''Patron Saint of Libraries''.
Of the 2,509 libraries funded between 1883 and 1929, 1,689 were built in the [[United States]], 660 in [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and [[Ireland]], 156 in [[Canada]], and others in [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Serbia]], the [[Caribbean]], and [[Fiji]]. Very few towns that requested a grant and agreed to his terms were refused. When the last grant was made in 1919, there were 3,500 libraries in the United States, nearly half of them paid for by Carnegie.
In the early 20th century, a Carnegie library was the most imposing structure in hundreds of small American communities from [[Maine]] to [[California]]. Most of the library buildings were unique, displaying a number of different [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] and other [[architecture|architectural]] styles, including Italian [[Renaissance]], [[Baroque]], Classical Revival and Spanish Colonial. Each style was chosen by the community and was typically simple and formal, welcoming patrons to enter through a prominent doorway, nearly always accessed via a staircase. The entry staircase symbolized a person's elevation by learning. Similarly, outside virtually every library was a lamppost or lantern to symbolize enlightenment.
The first of Carnegie's public libraries opened in his hometown, [[Dunfermline]], [[Scotland]], in 1883. As with most of the others, Carnegie's name did not appear on the building. Rather, he had a motto -- "Let there be light" -- inscribed over the entrance. His first library in the United States was built in 1889 in [[Braddock, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|Braddock]], [[Pennsylvania]], home to one of the Carnegie Steel Company's mills. The last public library funded through Carnegie's generosity was the Wyoming Branch, completed in 1930 in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]. At 231 East Wyoming Avenue, it continues as an active branch of the [[Free Library of Philadelphia]].<ref>[http://libwww.library.phila.gov/branches/history.cfm?loc=WY Philadelphia Free Library and Branches], accessed 16 May 2008</ref>
== Self-improvement through learning ==
[[Image:carnegie lib 640 03 2.jpg|thumb|Detail of the entrance to the Carnegie library pictured above]]
Books and libraries were always an important part of Carnegie's life, beginning with his childhood in Scotland. There he listened to readings and discussions of books from the Tradesman's Subscription Library which his father helped create. Later, in the United States, while working for the local telegraph company in [[Northside (Pittsburgh)|Allegheny]], [[Pennsylvania]], Carnegie borrowed books from the personal library of Colonel James Anderson, who opened the collection to his workers every Saturday. In his autobiography, Carnegie credited Anderson with providing an opportunity for "working boys" (that some said should not be "entitled to books") to acquire the knowledge to improve themselves. <ref>"Andrew Carnegie: A Tribute: Colonel James Anderson", Exhibit, ''Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh'' [http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/anderson.html]</ref>
Carnegie's personal experience as an immigrant, who with help from others worked his way into a position of wealth, reinforced his belief in a society based on merit, where anyone who worked hard could become successful. This conviction was a major element of his philosophy of giving in general, and of his libraries as its best known expression.
==Carnegie Formula and fields for philanthropy==
[[Image:Levenshulme Library.jpg|thumb|[[Levenshulme]] Library a 'Carnegie Library' in a small [[Manchester]], [[UK]] suburb, was built in 1904]]
[[Image:Teddington Carnegie Library.jpg|thumb|right|The Carnegie Library in [[Teddington]], [[England]] was built in 1906]]
<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:Carnegie_San_Juan.jpg|thumb| Biblioteca Carnegie in [[San Juan]], [[Puerto Rico]] was built 1916 by Governor [[Arthur Yager]] with a grant from Andrew Carnegie]] -->
Carnegie believed in giving to the "industrious and ambitious; not those who need everything done for them, but those who, being most anxious and able to help themselves, deserve and will be benefited by help from others." <ref>Andrew Carnegie, "The Best Fields for Philanthropy," ''The North American Review'', Volume 149, Issue 397, December, 1889 [http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=ABQ7578-0149-83]</ref> His other stated "best fields" for donating surplus wealth were universities, health care institutions, public parks, assembly halls, public swimming pools, and churches.
Nearly all of Carnegie's libraries were built according to "The Carnegie Formula", which required a kind of matching from the town that received the donation. It must:
* demonstrate the need for a public library;
* provide the building site; and
* annually provide ten percent of the cost of the library's construction to support its operation.
The amount of money donated to most communities was based on [[U.S. Census]] figures and averaged approximately $2 per person. While there were some communities that refused to seek a grant, as some people considered Carnegie's money to be tainted by his business practices or disdained the libraries as personal memorials, many communities were eager for the chance to build public institutions. James Bertram, Carnegie's personal secretary who ran the program, was never without requests.
The impact of Carnegie's library philanthropy was maximized by his timing. His offers came at a peak of town development and library expansion in the US. By 1890, many states had begun to take an active role in organizing public libraries, and the new buildings filled a tremendous need. Interest in libraries was also heightened at a crucial time in their early development by Carnegie's high profile and his genuine belief in their importance. <ref>Bobinski, p. 191</ref>
==Self-service stacks==
[[Image:Carnegie lib interior.jpg|thumb|Carnegie library interior, with the typical centrally located librarian's desk and innovative open stacks]]
Design of the libraries was to encourage communication with the librarian, and also to create an opportunity for people to discover books on their own. "The Carnegie libraries were important because they had open stacks which encouraged people to browse....People could choose for themselves what books they wanted to read," according to Walter E. Langsam, an architectural historian and teacher at the [[University of Cincinnati]]. Before Carnegie, patrons had to ask a clerk to retrieve books from closed stacks. <ref>Al Andry, "New Life for Historic Libraries", ''The Cincinnati Post'', [[October 11]] [[1999]][http://www.cincypost.com/news/1999/carn101199.html]</ref>
==Continuing legacy==
While hundreds of the library buildings have been converted into museums, community centers, office buildings and residences—or demolished—more than half of those in the United States still serve their communities as libraries over a century after their construction, many in middle- to low-income neighborhoods. For example, Carnegie libraries still form the nucleus of the [[New York Public Library]] system in [[New York, New York|New York City]], with 31 of the original 39 buildings still in operation. Also, the main library and seven branches of the [[Pittsburgh]] public library system are Carnegie libraries. The public library was named the [[Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh]].
In the late 1940s, the [[Carnegie Corporation of New York]] arranged for microfilming of the correspondence files relating to Andrew Carnegie's gifts and grants to communities for the public libraries and church organs. They then discarded the original materials. The microfilms are open for research as part of the Carnegie Corporation of New York Records collection, residing at the [[Columbia University]] Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Unfortunately archivists did not microfilm photographs and blueprints of the Carnegie Libraries - these were simply discarded. The number and nature of documents within the correspondence files varies widely. Such documents may include correspondence, completed applications and questionnaires, newspaper clippings, illustrations, and building dedication programs.
Beginning in the 1930s, some libraries were meticulously measured, documented and photographed under the [[Historic American Building Survey]] (HABS) program of the [[National Park Service]], and other documentation has been collected by local historical societies. Many of the Carnegie libraries in the United States, whatever their current uses, have been recognized by listing on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].
==Distribution of U.S. Carnegie libraries in 1920==
[[Image:BraddockPaCL.JPG|thumb|right|First in the [[United States|USA]]]]
[[Image:Ridge Farm Illinois Carnegie library.png|thumb|The Carnegie Library in [[Ridge Farm, Illinois]], opened in 1910, is in an [[Georgian architecture|Italianate Georgian style]]]]
[[Image:Carnegie Blue Island.jpg|thumb|right|The Carnegie Library in [[Blue Island, IL]] - William A. Otis, architect (1903, demolished 1969) ''source'' [[Curt Teich|Curt Teich & Co.]] postcard 60274]]
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==Carnegie Libraries in Canada==
===Ontario===
[[Toronto Public Library]] operates 8 libraries built with Carnegie money. A total of 10 were opened between 1907 to 1916 with one demolished:
* Central Library 1909-1977 - now Koffler Student Centre, U of T
* Yorkville 1907
* Queen and Lisgar 1909-1964 - now Toronto Public Health Clinic
* Riverdale 1910
* Beaches 1916
* High Park 1916
* Wynchwood 1916
* West Toronto 1909
* Weston 1914
* Mimico 1915-1966 - demolished and replaced by Mimico Centennial
* Birge-Carnegie Library, Victoria College - 1910-1961 - now United Church of Canada Archives
Victoria University Archives
* Western 1908 - now Annette Street since 1962
Source: [http://www.tpl.toronto.on.ca/abo_his_car_index.jsp Toronto's Carnegie Libraries]
* Metcalfe and Laurier in [[Ottawa]] - [[Ottawa Public Library]] 1903
* Windsor - [[Windsor Public Library]] 1903
* Carnegie Building - [[Brampton Library]] 1908
* Fort William Library - [[Thunder Bay Public Library]] 1912
* Berlin Public Library - [[Kitchener Public Library]] 1904
* [[Whitby Public Library]] 1914
* [[Whitchurch-Stouffville Public Library]] 1923
===British Columbia===
* Carengie Library - [[Greater Victoria Public Library]] 1906
===Alberta===
* Carnegie Library - [[Lethbridge Public Library]] 1922
* Memorial Park Library - [[Calgary Public Library]] 1908-1911
===New Brunswick===
* Saint John Free Public Library - Saint John, NB 1904
===Manitoba===
* Williams Avenue - [[Winnipeg Public Library]] and now home to City of Winnipeg Archives
* St. John's Library - [[Winnipeg Public Library]] 1915
* Cornish Library - [[Winnipeg Public Library]] 1914
==See also==
* [[Saint John Free Public Library]]
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
==References==
* Molly Skeen ([[March 5]], [[2004]]) [http://www.nationaltrust.org/Magazine/archives/arch_story/030504.htm "How America's Carnegie Libraries Adapt to Survive"], ''Preservation Online''.
* [[December 10]] [[2002]]. [http://www.nypl.org/press/yorkvillecentennial.cfm "Yorkville Library Celebrates Centennial"], ''The New York Public Library''.
* Michael Lorenzen (1999). [http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1999/il990275.html "Deconstructing the Carnegie Libraries: The Sociological Reasons Behind Carnegie's Millions to Public Libraries"], ''Illinois Libraries''. 81, no. 2: 75-78.
* Theodore Jones (1997). ''Carnegie Libraries Across America: A Public Legacy'', John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-14422-3
* George Bobinski (1969). ''Carnegie Libraries: Their History and Impact on American Public Library Development'', American Library Association. ISBN 0-8389-0022-4
* Brendan Grimes (1998). ''Irish Carnegie Libraries: A catalogue and architectural history'', Irish Academic Press. ISBN 0-7165-2618-2
==External links==
{{commons|Carnegie library|Carnegie library}}
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/rbml/collections/carnegie/CCNY.html Carnegie Corporation of New York Records]
* [http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/50carnegie/50carnegie.htm "Carnegie Libraries: The Future Made Bright"], National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
* [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/habs_haer/ Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER)], Permanent Collection, ''American Memory'' from the Library of Congress
* [http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc/ History of Andrew Carnegie and Carnegie Libraries]
* [http://www.carnegie-libraries.org/ Carnegie Libraries of California]
* [http://www.flheritage.com/services/magazine/00summer/carnegie.cfm Florida's Carnegie Libraries]
* [http://cterwilliger.com/resource/carnegie/ Carnegie Libraries of Michigan]
* [http://www.scotcities.com/carnegie/ Carnegie Libraries of Scotland]
* [http://www.clpgh.org Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh]
* [http://www.libsci.sc.edu/histories/vts/vts11.html Carnegie Libraries in South Carolina]
* [http://home.comcast.net/~jaulik/carnwi.html Library Postcards: Civic Pride in a Lost America]
* [http://www.puertadetierra.com/edificios/biblio/biblioteca.htm History of Biblioteca Carnegie in Puerto Rico (en EspaƱol)]
[[Category:Carnegie libraries| ]]
[[Category:Andrew Carnegie|Library]]
[[Category:Types of library]]
[[Category:Academic libraries]]
[[Category:Public libraries]]
[[Category:Libraries in the United States]]
[[Category:Libraries in Canada]]
[[Category:Philanthropy]]
[[pl:Carnegie libraries]]