Andrew Carnegie was the foremost supporter of public library construction to the point that Carnegie Library became a cliche, synonymous with the public library, especially in small towns. Yet some communities that asked for Carnegie's funds to build a library later took public action to decline the funds. Because he was viewed as a robber baron, it has been assumed that these refusals were motivated by a desire not to take tainted money. This work documents that this was rarely the case. Indeed, there were many reasons for opposition to the Carnegie library grants. In some cases, local authorities remained unconvinced of the need for a public library. Some communities were under legal or financial restrictions that prevented them from taxing themselves in support of the library. In some, there was simply opposition to increasing the tax burden; in others the opposition focused on the perception that Carnegie was building memorials to himself.
Experienced historians were commissioned to conduct thorough studies of regional clusters. The authors made the broadest possible use of primary sources, including public archives, manuscript collections, local newspaper accounts, and the records of the Carnegie Corporation in the Library of Congress. Of particular relevance were the files of the Carnegie Library Correspondence, documenting most of the history of first, Andrew Carnegie's--and later, the Carnegie Corporation's--program to fund library construction programs.
By:
Robert Martin
Imprint: Praeger Publishers Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: No. 3.
Dimensions:
Height: 235mm,
Width: 156mm,
Spine: 21mm
Weight: 510g
ISBN: 9780313286094
ISBN 10: 0313286094
Series: Beta Phi Mu Monograph Series
Pages: 200
Publication Date: 28 February 1993
Recommended Age: From 7 to 17 years
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
,
A / AS level
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
"Introduction by Robert Sidney Martin The Founding of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh by Rosemary R. DuMont Aborted Library Projects in Pennsylvania: Community Reactions to Library Offers in Carnegie's ""Native State"" by Pamela S. Richards The Carnegie Question and the Public Library Movement in Progressive Era New York by Frederick J. Stielow and James Corsaro Women's Club Culture and the Failure of Library Development in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio by Daniel F. Ring No Palace for the People: Carnegie Rejections in Indiana by John Mark Tucker Mistaken Pride, Unseasonable Rush: Rejected Carnegie Grants in Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska by Robert Sidney Martin, Anne P. Diffendal, Loren Nelson Horton, and Randy Roberts Poverty of Mind and Lack of Municipal Spirit: Rejection of Carnegie Public Library Building Grants by Seven Southern Communities by Donald G. Davis, Jr. and Ronald C. Stone, Jr. Summary and Conclusions by Robert Sidney Martin Index"
ROBERT SIDNEY MARTIN is Assistant Dean of Libraries for Special Collections Louisiana State University Libraries, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
