A Carnegie library is a library A library is a collection of sources, resources, and services, and the structure in which it is housed; it is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, or a private individual. In the more traditional sense, a library is a collection of books. It can mean the collection, the building or room that houses such a collection, built with money donated by Scottish-American Scottish Americans or Scots Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. According to American Community Survey in 2008 data, Americans reporting Scottish ancestry made up an estimated 1.9% of the total U.S. population. Scottish and Scotch-Irish ancestry represent 3.1% of the U.S. population businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (25 November 1835 – 11 August 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, entrepreneur and a major philanthropist. More than 2,500 Carnegie libraries were built, including some belonging to public A public library is a library which is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources (such as tax money) and may be operated by civil servants. Taxing bodies for public libraries may be at any level from local to national central government level and university library An academic library is a library which serves an institution of higher learning, such as a college or a university — libraries in secondary and primary schools are called school libraries. These libraries serve two complementary purposes: to support the school's curriculum, and to support the research of the university faculty and students systems.
Of the 2,509 such libraries funded between 1883 and 1929, 1,689 were built in the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language, 660 in Britain and Ireland Ireland (pronounced [ˈaɾlənd],; Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen); Ulster Scots: Airlann) is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the northwest of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland is Great Britain, separated from, 125 in Canada The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three, and others in Australia For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of the roughly 250 language groups. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north and discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Britain in 177, New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori language name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also, Serbia 2 Titular rulers of Serbia in Hungarian exile claimed Serbian throne until 1540. Belgrade fell to Ottomans in 1521. Serbia was briefly reestablished by Jovan Nenad 1526–7, the Caribbean The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and North America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America, and Fiji Fiji /ˈfiːdʒiː/ (Fijian: Matanitu ko Viti; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी), officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Fijian: Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य,[citation needed] fiji dvip samooh ganarajya), is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean.[citation needed] 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 built with construction grants paid by Carnegie.[citation needed]
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History
The first of Carnegie's public libraries opened in his hometown, Dunfermline Dunfermline is a large town in Fife, Scotland, located on high ground 3 miles from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. It was a former capital of Scotland, having been historically a seat of the kingdom's Royal Court and an important ecclesiastical centre. Its former abbey is the burial place for many in the country's line of monarchs, Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland, in 1883. The locally quarried sandstone building displays a stylised sun with a carved motto - "Let there be light" at the entrance. His first library in the United States was built in 1889 in Braddock, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania has 51 miles of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km) of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary, home to one of the Carnegie Steel Company's mills. Initially, Carnegie limited his support to a small number of towns in which he had an interest. From the 1890s on, his foundation funded a dramatic increase in number of libraries. This coincided with the rise of women's clubs in the post-Civil War period, which were most responsible for organizing efforts to establish libraries, including long-term fundraising and lobbying within their communities to support operations and collections.[1] They led the establishment of 75-80 percent of the libraries in communities across the country.[2]
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."[3] Under segregation black people were generally denied access to public libraries in the Southern United States The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, Down South, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States. Because of the region's unique cultural and historic heritage, including Native Americans, early European settlements of English, Ulster Scots,. Rather than insisting on his libraries being racially integrated, he funded separate libraries for African Americans. For example, at Houston Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States of America and the largest city in the state of Texas. As of the 2009 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a population of 2.3 million within an area of 579 square miles (1,500 km2). Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan he funded a separate Colored Carnegie Library.[4]
Detail of the entrance to the Carnegie library in Avondale, Cincinnati.Most of the library buildings were unique, constructed in a number of architectural styles, including Beaux-Arts Beaux-Arts architecture denotes the academic neoclassical architectural style that was taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The style "Beaux Arts" is above all the cumulative product of two and a half centuries of instruction under the authority, first of the Académie royale d'architecture, then, following the Revolution, of, Italian Renaissance Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, in which there was a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance architecture followed Gothic architecture and was, Baroque Baroque architecture, starting in the early 17th century in Italy, took the humanist Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical, theatrical, sculptural fashion, expressing the triumph of absolutist church and state. New architectural concerns for color, light and shade, sculptural values and intensity characterize, Classical Revival, and Spanish Colonial. Scottish Baronial was one of the styles used in Carnegie's native Scotland. Each style was chosen by the community, although as the years went by James Bertram, Carnegie's secretary, became less tolerant of designs which were not to his taste.[citation needed] The architecture 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,[citation needed] meant as a symbol of enlightenment The word 'enlightenment' can be used to refer to many different concepts. The phrase 'The Enlightenment' refers to a philosophical revolution of the 18th century based on rationalism. In a secular or a non-Buddhist context the word is often used meaning full comprehension of a situation, or having gained spiritual insight. Enlightenment is also.
In the early 20th century, a Carnegie library was often the most imposing structure in hundreds of small American communities.
Background
Carnegie Free Library of Braddock in Braddock, Pennsylvania, built in 1888, was the first Carnegie Library in the United States.Books and libraries were 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.[citation needed] Later, in the United States, while working for the local telegraph company in Allegheny, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania has 51 miles of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km) of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary, 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.[5] 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,[citation needed] and of his libraries as its best known expression.
"The Carnegie Formula"
Nearly all of Carnegie's libraries were built according to "The Carnegie Formula", which required matching contributions from the town that received the donation.[citation needed] It must:
- demonstrate the need for a public library;
- provide the building site;
- annually provide ten percent of the cost of the library's construction to support its operation; and,
- provide free service to all.
Carnegie assigned the decisions to his assistant James Bertram. He created a "Schedule of Questions." The schedule included: Name, status and population of town, Does it have a library? Where is it located and is it public or private? How many books? Is a town-owned site available?
One of the requirements was the willingness of people and government to raise taxes to support the library. Money was not given all at once but disbursed gradually as the project went on. Records were kept on a "Daily Register of Donations." The 1908 Daily register of donations, for example, has 10–20 entries each day.[citation needed] Every day that year, money was disbursed for libraries and church organs in the US and Britain.
The amount of money donated to most communities was based on U.S. Census The United States Census is a decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats , electoral votes, and government program funding. Some states or local jurisdictions also conduct local censuses figures and averaged approximately $2 per person.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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.[6]
Self-service stacks
Interior of the Carnegie library in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the typical open stacks and centrally located librarian's desk.The design of the Carnegie libraries has been given credit[who?] for encouraging communication with the librarian. It also created an opportunity for people to browse and 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 The University of Cincinnati is a coeducational public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, part of the University System of Ohio. The 2007 rankings from The Center at Arizona State University place the University of Cincinnati as a "Public University Ranking in the Top 25 among Publics", tied for the 37th best public research. Before Carnegie, patrons had to ask a clerk to retrieve books from closed stacks.[7]
Continuing legacy
Carnegie established charitable trusts which have continued his philanthropic work. However, even before his death they had reduced their involvement in the provision of libraries. There has continued to be support for library projects, for example in South Africa.[8]
While hundreds of the library buildings have been converted into museums, community centers, office buildings and residences, more than half[citation needed] 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 The New York Public Library is one of the leading public libraries of the world and is one of the United States's most significant research libraries. It is composed of a very large circulating public library system combined with a very large non-lending research library system. It is simultaneously one of the largest public library systems in the system in New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is one of the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over global commerce, finance, media, culture, art, fashion, research, education, and entertainment. As host of the United, with 31 of the original 39 buildings still in operation. Also, the main library and eighteen branches of the Pittsburgh Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the largest city both in Appalachia, and the Ohio Valley and it anchors the 22nd largest urban area in the United States public library system are Carnegie libraries. The public library system there is named the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is the public library system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its Main Branch is located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and it has 19 branch locations throughout the city. Like hundreds of other Carnegie libraries, the construction of the main library, which opened in 1895, and several neighborhood.
The Historical Society of Washington, D.C. is located in a former Carnegie library and is on the U.S. National Register of Historic PlacesIn the late 1940s, the Carnegie Corporation of New York Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations[citation needed]. Some notable contributions of Carnegie Corporation include: 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 Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York is a private research university in New York City and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution. It was founded Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Unfortunately archivists did not microfilm photographs and blueprints of the Carnegie Libraries. 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. UK correspondence files relating to individual libraries have been preserved in Edinburgh Edinburgh (pronounced /ˈɛdɪnbɹə/ ( listen), ED-in-brə or ED-in-bə-rə) (Scots: Edinburgh/Embra/Emburrie) (Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland after Glasgow and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government (see the article List of Carnegie libraries in Europe).
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 The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. It was created on August 25, 1916, by Congress through the National Park Service Organic Act,[9] 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 The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation. Having a property on the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, could result in its eligibility for tax incentives derived from the.
Lists of Carnegie libraries
See also: Carnegie Library (disambiguation)- List of Carnegie libraries in Africa, the Caribbean and Oceania
- List of Carnegie libraries in Canada
- List of Carnegie libraries in Europe
- List of Carnegie libraries in the United States
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Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:41:53 GMT+00:00
Washington Post The party -- with live performances -- was held at the Carnegie Library on Mount Vernon Square, which houses the Historical Society of Washington. ... DC's Howard Theatre turns 100 as restoration nears wtop as Howard Theatre turns 100, optimism over restoration returns TBD.com (blog)
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hu, 05 Aug 2010 04:46:00 GM
I checked my list of . Carnegie. Libraries in Oregon: AHA, there's one in McMinnville where we've stopped to see the Spruce Goose (officially the Evergreen) Aviation & Space Museum! . Carnegie. Libraries were built near the center of town ...
