A repost from my Facebook. Original November 21, 2015
Andrew Carnegie funded the building of 2,509 libraries between 1883 and 1929 in cities across the globe. Carnegie had a strict formula to determine if he would provide a town funds for a library.
1. demonstrate the need for a public library;
2. provide the building site;
3. pay to staff and maintain the library;
4. draw from public funds to run the library-not use only private donations;
5. annually provide ten percent of the cost of the library’s construction to support its operation; and,
6. provide free service to all.
If these conditions were met, funds would be disbursed to a town over the course of the project and not in one lump sum.
The end result was a desire to own and maintain a library by both the town and the tax payer.
It is highly likely that the library in your own town is a Carnegie Library, check the list and see.
The library in the photo is the Neillsville Public Library where I grew up.
Sources:
Carnegie library
List of Carnegie libraries in the United States