Title: Impact on Society - Andrew Carnegie: The "Patron Saint" of Libraries
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Content: Impact on Society - Andrew Carnegie: The "Patron Saint" of Libraries




An Introduction to Andrew Carnegie
A Brief Biography of Andrew Carnegie
Controversial Carnegie
Libraries during Carnegie's Time
Carnegie, Philanthropy & Libraries
James Bertram
The Process of Receiving a Carnegie Library
Impact on Society
Conclusion
References & Photo Credits
Impact on Society
Without a doubt, Carnegie’s grants helped jump-started the development of public libraries and librarianship as a whole across the country. Bobinski (1969) cites Harold Underwood Faulkner as crediting Carnegie as being “the single greatest incentive to library growth in the United States” (p. 184). As Carnegie’s grants were dramatically increasing the number of public libraries in the country, the demand for educated, qualified library staff was likewise growing, which Van Slyck (1995) credits as supporting the entry of women into librarianship. The Carnegie libraries – especially after Bertram developed his notes starting in 1911 about how the ideal library should be built – also influenced library architecture by opening the shelves, which had previously typically closed to patrons, and placing the librarian in the center of the library, able to view everything and visible to all (Van Slyck). Furthermore, many Carnegie Libraries made attracting patrons a top priority, often using unorthodox methods such as putting invitations to the library in the pay envelopes of every employee in town, or creating slides promoting the library that were shown before movies at the local theater (Jones, 1997). In doing so, they raised awareness about the public library as a community resource, and normalized them so that public libraries were no longer seen as novelties but instead as established institutions. Perhaps most importantly, Carnegie’s insistence on a 10% tax for the maintenance of libraries built with his grants paved the way for general acceptance for taxation for public libraries, which now is the norm but was unheard of at the time. In 1895, New Hampshire became the first state to require tax funding for public libraries, with other following (Jones). By insisting that libraries truly would be publically owned and paid for by the people, Krass (2002) said that “Carnegie had aided the democratization of culture with his libraries” (p. 423).