Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was not called the Patron Saint of Libraries for no reason. Credited for started over 2500 Carnegie libraries, Andrew Carnegie was a philanthropist and a Scottish American businessman. He had both the means and desire to build public and university libraries.
• When Andrew Carnegie was a child, he had no idea that he would someday be responsible for creating the famous Carnegie libraries. However, he spent much of his childhood reading and going to libraries. The future creator of the Carnegie Library system also had a father who was responsible for helping to found the Tradesmen’s Subscription Library, which was subscribed to buy a good number of individuals. Andrew Carnegie used to listen to public readings that the Tradesmen’s Subscription Library.
• The man behind Carnegie libraries began working for a telegraph company when he was a young adult in Pennsylvania. The owner of this company had his own personal library that he let his workers use on Saturdays. During that time period, many believed that the common working man should not be entitled to learn how to read. It was somewhat of a big deal for a wealthy man to promote literacy amongst his working class employees. As a hard working immigrant, Andrew Carnegie would use this philosophy to create the first Carnegie Library.
• Most of the 2500 Carnegie libraries that were built was with the help of local supporters. Andrew Carnegie believed in getting the community involved by using what was called the Carnegie Formula: he would match the community monetary contributions made by individuals and other requirements. Andrew Carnegie rarely denied a request from a town to build a Carnegie Library. Instead, he required that the people be willing to have taxes raised to support the Carnegie Library. Andrew Carnegie also required the area to demonstrate its need for a Carnegie Library, provide the building and finance 10% of the yearly construction fees of Carnegie Library.
• Eventually, Andrew Carnegie was responsible for funding at least 2500 Carnegie libraries around the world. Most of the Carnegie libraries were in the United States; roughly 1700. The additional Carnegie libraries were built in many different places including Britain, Ireland, and Fiji. Many southerners did not believe that African Americans should have been allowed to know how to read. When dealing with the racism of southern America and the required segregation, Andrew Carnegie went as far as to build separate Carnegie libraries specifically for African Americans.
It is because of Andrew Carnegie and his Carnegie libraries that many individuals in the late 1800s and early 1900s had access to the large amount of reading material that they had. Andrew Carnegie will forever be known for his Carnegie Library legacy.