There are Carnegie libraries in many english speaking countries around the world (including the one shown above in Roseau, Dominica – one of 5 in the Caribbean).
Much has been written about those in the United States, Canada, Ireland and Scotland – links to some of the main web resources and books can be found below.
I’ve also tried to visit Carnegie libraries wherever I’ve been able to find them – some more unexpected than others. And where I haven’t visited yet, I may have been able to find an old postcard or information on the web.
General book references:
- Carnegie Corporation Library Program 1911–1961. New York: Carnegie Corporation. Anderson, Florence (1963).
- Carnegie Grants for Library Buildings, 1890-1917. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York. Miller, Durand R. (1943).
- Carnegie Libraries, George S Bobinski (1969)
General web articles:
- Andrew Carnegie’s surprising legacy (History.com 2017)
There are always stories about Carnegie libraries in the news – I’ve created this page to record them.
United States
The wikipedia pages on the US Carnegie legacy are very well structured and there is a lot of information about individual libraries
Books include:
- A book of Carnegie libraries, Theodore Wesley Koch (1917)
- Books, Bluster, and Bounty: Local Politics & Carnegie Library Building Grants in the Intermountain West, 1890-1920, Susan H. Swetnam (2012)
- Carnegie Libraries across America: A public legacy, Theodore Jones (1997)
- Free to All: Carnegie Libraries and American Culture, 1890-1920, Abigail van Slyck (1996)
Canada
The libraries built in Canada are listed on wikipedia
Books include:
- The Best Gift: A Record of the Carnegie Libraries in Ontario, Margaret Beckman et al
- Local library, global passport: the evolution of a Carnegie library, J Patrick Boyer. 2008. “By tracing evolution of library service in the Canadian town of Bracebridge from 1874 to the present day within the broad sweep of larger cultural and economic patterns, Boyer’s engaging book provides a specific example of the universal transformation of books and information technologies and the libraries that house them from the 19th to 21st centuries”. This book was written to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Andrew Carnegie Library in Bracebridge in 2008.
Scotland
The main resource for information about the libraries built in the country of Carnegie’s birth can be found on Gerald Blaikie’s website. It is extremely thorough, and contains lots of information about the man and his legacy, as well as photos and drawings of specific libraries.
Republic of Ireland
Between 1897 and 1913, Andrew Carnegie donated over £170,000 to fund the building of 80 libraries in Ireland. 62 of those libraries survive today and Brendan Grimes is the expert, who has produced a thorough catalogue and (I think) curated an exhibition of photos of them.
Book reference:
Irish Carnegie Libraries: A Catalogue and Architectural History
Weblinks:
Wales
I’ve visited a couple of Carnegie libraries in Wales, and hope over time to build up a register to confirm their current status. In the meantime, I’ll create pages as I find information.
- Buckley, Flintshire
Rest of the World
Australia: 4 libraries
Barbados: Bridgetown
Belgium: Leuven
Dominica: Roseau
Fiji: Suva
France: Reims
Guyana: Georgetown
Mauritius: Curepipe
New Zealand: 18 libraries
Puerto Rico: San Juan
Saint Lucia: Castries
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines:Kingstown
Serbia: Belgrade
Seychelles: Victoria
South Africa: 12 libraries
Trinidad and Tobago: San Fernando
