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Carnegie libraries for both public use and academic institutions were built with money donated by American businessman Andrew Carnegie, earning him the nickname, the Patron Saint of Libraries. Of the 2,509 funded between 1883 and 1929, 1,689 were built in the United States, 660 in Britain and Ireland, 156 in Canada, and others in New Zealand, the Caribbean, the West Indies 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 communities from Maine to CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located in the western United States, bordering the Pacific Ocean. The most populous and third largest state in the U. California is both physically and demographically diverse. The state's official nickname is "The Golden State", wh. Contrary to the belief of many people, most of the library buildings were unique, displaying a number of different Beaux-ArtsBeaux Arts was an architectural style that was popular in the early twentieth century. The name comes from the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris where this style was practised. The emphasis was towards producing quick sketch schemes involving beautiful drawin and other architecturalArchitecture is the art and science of designing buildings. A wider definition would include within its scope the design of the total built environment, from the macrolevel of town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture to the microlevel of fu styles, including Italian RenaissanceLeonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, an example of the blend of art and science during the Renaissance The Renaissance was a great cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern Eur, 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. Outside virtually every branch, a lamp post or lantern symbolized enlightenment. See also: Carnegie libraries image galleryThese turn-of-the-century postcards illustrate some of the architectural diversity of Carnegie libraries in the United States. External links .
The first of Carnegie's public libraries opened in his hometown, DunfermlineDunfermline (in Gaelic, the fort on the crooked linn (glen , is a town and burgh in Fife, Scotland that sits on high ground 3 miles from the shore of the Firth of Forth, northwest of Edinburgh. The town is intersected from north to south by Pittencrieff G, ScotlandScotland or in Scottish Gaelic, Alba is a country and former independent kingdom of northwest Europe, and one of the four nations comprising the United Kingdom. Scotland occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Scotland took part in a p, in 1883. As with most of the others, contrary to common perception, his 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 1889Events January-April January 8 Herman Hollerith receives a patent for his electric tabulating machine January 22 Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, DC. February 11 Meiji Constitution of Japan adopted; 1st Diet convenes in 1890 January 30 ? Crown in Braddock, Pennsylvania, home to one of the Carnegie Steel Company's mills.