Carnegie Libraries across the country to receive $10K in celebration of U.S. 250th anniversary

The same week Scottish immigrant and industrialist Andrew Carnegie was inducted into the Pittsburgh Walk of Fame because of his philanthropy and commitment to learning through libraries, those libraries received a monetary gift.

“As I was sitting at the Walk of Fame ceremony on Monday, I thought, every one of these inductees have most likely been to the Carnegie Library,” said Andrew Medlar, president and director of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. “What an awesome legacy for Carnegie.”

On Wednesday, it was announced that Carnegie Libraries across America will each receive $10,000 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence through a special initiative by Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie funded the construction of 1,681 free public libraries in the U.S. between 1886 and 1917. As part of the Carnegie Libraries 250 special initiative, Carnegie’s philanthropic foundation reached out to each library and established that about 1,280 still operate and acknowledge their link to Carnegie, making them eligible for the gift. Approximately 750 of them continue to use their original buildings, while others have moved to new locations.

Eight libraries in Pittsburgh will be receiving a check, said Medlar: Allegheny, Hazelwood, Homewood, Lawrenceville, the main location in Oakland, Mt. Washington, South Side and West End.

“Andrew Carnegie trusted us to carry his love of libraries forward,” Medlar said. “What a wonderful gift from Carnegie Corporation of New York not just to us but to libraries across the United States. What a legacy for Carnegie in Pittsburgh and across the country.”

The libraries can expect to receive a check in January and may use the funds however they wish, according to the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Medlar said it hasn’t yet been decided how the funds will be spent but that the money will help with books and “so many other things.” He said he will work with his colleagues to invest the money to continue to transform libraries.

“Our founder, Andrew Carnegie, who championed the free public library movement of the late 19th century, described libraries as ‘cradles of democracy’ that ‘strengthen the democratic idea, the equality of the citizen, and the royalty of man,’ ” Dame Louise Richardson, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York said in a statement. “We still believe this and are delighted to celebrate our connection to the libraries he founded.”

The money will help the library continue its mission to enable connections with neighborhoods, Medlar said.

“It will help us carry on Carnegie’s legacy,” Medlar said. “In Carnegie’s words, a library is ‘Free to the People.’ We have those words carved above the main library (in Oakland). “