Andrew Carnegie’s decision to compliment library construction developed from his experience. Born in 1835, he spent his first 12 years from the coastal city of Dunfermline, Scotland. There he listened to men read aloud and discuss books borrowed from the Tradesmen’s Subscription Library that his father, a weaver, had helped create. Carnegie began his formal education at age eight, but were required to stop after only three years. The rapid industrialization with the textile trade forced small businessmen like Carnegie’s father using business. Due to this fact, the family unit sold their belongings and immigrated to Allegheny, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Andrew Carnegie’s decision to compliment library construction developed from his experience. Born in 1835, he spent his first 12 years from the coastal city of Dunfermline, Scotland. There he listened to men read aloud and discuss books borrowed from the Tradesmen’s Subscription Library that his father, a weaver, had helped create.pop over to this site Carnegie began his formal education at age eight, but were required to stop after only three years. The rapid industrialization with the textile trade forced small businessmen like Carnegie’s father using business. Due to this fact, the family unit sold their belongings and immigrated to Allegheny, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Although these new circumstances required the young Carnegie to see work, his learning failed to end. After a year in any textile factory, he was a messenger boy for that local telegraph company. Most of his fellow messengers introduced him to Col. James Anderson of Allegheny, who every Saturday opened his personal library to any young worker who wished to borrow a magazine. Carnegie later said the colonel opened the windows where the light of knowledge streamed. In 1853, after the colonel’s representatives attempted to restrict the library’s use, Carnegie wrote a letter to your editor within the Pittsburgh Dispatch defending the appropriate of all of the working boys to have enjoyment from the pleasures with the library. More important, he resolved that, should he ever be wealthy, he would make similar opportunities designed for other poor workers.

During the next half-century Carnegie accumulated the fortune that may enable him to satisfy that pledge. Throughout his years as being a messenger, Carnegie had taught himself the art of telegraphy. This skill helped him make contacts along with the Pennsylvania Railroad, where he went to just work at age 18. Throughout his 12-year railroad association he rose quickly, ultimately becoming superintendent of the Pennsylvania’s Pittsburgh division. He simultaneously invested in a number of other businesses, including railroad locomotives, oil, and iron and steel. In 1865, Carnegie left the railroad to regulate the Keystone Bridge Company, that had been successfully replacing wooden railroad bridges with iron ones. By the 1870s he was centering on steel manufacturing, ultimately creating the Carnegie Steel Company. In 1901 he sold that business for $250 million.

Carnegie then retired and devoted the remainder of his life to philanthropy. Even before selling Carnegie Steel he had begun to consider how to deal with his immense fortune. In 1889 he wrote a famous essay entitled The Gospel of Wealth, of which he stated that wealthy men should live without extravagance, provide moderately with their dependents, and distribute the rest of their riches to profit the welfare and happiness with the common man–with the consideration to assist only those would you help themselves. The Top Fields for Philanthropy, his second essay, listed seven fields which the wealthy should donate: universities, libraries, medical centers, public parks, meeting and concert halls, public baths, and churches. He later expanded this list to incorporate gifts that promoted scientific research, the general spread of knowledge, as well as promotion of world peace. A great number of organizations still this present day: the Carnegie Corporation in New York, one example is, helps support Sesame Street.

Thanks to his background, Carnegie was particularly looking into public libraries. At some point he stated a library was the perfect gift for that community, because it gave people the opportunity to improve themselves. His confidence was using the results of similar gifts from earlier philanthropists. In Baltimore, as an illustration, a library given by Enoch Pratt ended up utilized by 37,000 people in one year. Carnegie believed the relatively small number of public library patrons were of more value in their community as compared to the masses who chose to never gain benefit from the library.

Carnegie divided his donations to libraries on the retail and wholesale periods. Through the entire retail period, 1886 to 1896, he gave $1,860,869 for 14 endowed buildings in six communities in the United States. These buildings were actually community centers, containing recreational facilities similar to swimming pools not to mention libraries. From the years after 1896, named the wholesale period, Carnegie not any longer supported urban multipurpose buildings. Instead he gave $39,172,981 to smaller communities that had limited admission to cultural institutions. His gifts provided 1,406 towns with buildings devoted exclusively to libraries. Over half his grants were cheaper than $10,000. Although a lot of the towns receiving gifts were from the Midwest, in total 46 states took advantage of Carnegie’s plan.

Andrew Carnegie stopped making gifts for library construction carrying out a report made to him by Dr. Alvin Johnson, an economics professor. In 1916 Dr. Johnson visited 100 on the existing Carnegie libraries and studied their social significance, physical aspects, effectiveness, and financial condition. His final report concluded that to end up being really effective, the libraries needed trained personnel. Buildings were definitely provided, but now it was time to staff these with pros who would stimulate active, efficient libraries in their own communities. Libraries already promised continued to always be built until 1923, but after 1919 all financial support was looked to library education.

When Andrew Carnegie died in 1919 at age 84, he had given nearly one-fourth of his life to causes where by he believed. His gifts to numerous charities totalled nearly $350 million, almost 90 % of his fortune. Carnegie regarded all education as a method to increase people’s lives, and libraries provided one of his main tools to assist Americans build a brighter future. Questions for Reading 1 1. How did progress and industrialization affect Carnegie, both when he was young, and later in life? 2. How much money formal education did Carnegie have? What factors led to his involvement in books and reading? 3. What did Carnegie believe wealthy people need to do making use of their money? Why did he feel that? Should you agree? 4. How did supporting libraries match Carnegie’s past and the beliefs? Reading 1 was compiled from George S. Bobinski, Carnegie Libraries (Chicago: American Library Association, 1969); Andrew Carnegie, Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, reprint (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1920 1986); Barry Sears, Over the Trail of Carnegie Libraries, Antiques and Collecting (February 1994); Gerald R. Shields, Recycling Buildings for Libraries, Public Libraries (March/April 1994).