Carnegie Libraries Across America

 Book 35 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from March 12 - 16

Carnegie Libraries Across America: A Public Legacy

by Theodore Jones

published 1997

3 stars

"Free libraries maintained by the people are cradles of democracy, and their spread can never fail to extend and strengthen the democratic idea, the equality of the citizen, [and] the royalty of man.  They are emphatically fruit of the true American ideal." 

~ Andrew Carnegie

I picked this book from a library display.  Spending time browsing at a library and coming home to read about libraries and look at pictures of old libraries?  Sold.

Even though it was published almost 30 years ago it's not outdated other than the stats about how many libraries are still in use.  The majority of the book was about the history of the Carnegie grants and the beginning of public libraries.  Iowa connection: the first Carnegie library was in Fairfield, IA.  At the time of the book's publication the library was being transitioned; I looked it up and the building is still standing and currently a Carnegie museum.

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 35th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

- Title starting with 'C' (I'm doing an A-Z title challenge)