Public Library, St. Joseph, Missouri

[LIB7221]

1912 Carnegie Public Library, Adrian, Michigan

[LIB7125] As the usage of the library grew, the need for space increased, and a grant of $27,500 was secured from Andrew Carnegie. The City Council added another $5,000 and a suitable building was constructed. The Carnegie Library was dedicated on February 5, 1909 and opened to the public. [SOURCE]

This building is currently a county history museum. 

Carnegie Library, El Reno, Oklahoma

[LIB7124] On January 28, 1904, the board voted to accept Andrew Carnegie’s proposition to give $12,500 if the city would agree to maintain the library at an expense of not less than $1,250 a year.  The library board accepted the completed building on May 5, 1905. [Source]

1908 Carnegie Library, Mattoon, Illinois

[LIB7123]


The Mattoon Public Library was formed by a group of interested citizens in 1893.  Ten years later in 1903 the library moved into its current location.  The library was built with funds from Andrew Carnegie and is one of the many Carnegie libraries in central Illinois. Andrew Carnegie believed that a person had to educate themself and that libraries afforded anyone that opportunity.  He also believed that people had to lift themselves up because no one was going to do it for him.  The stairs leading up to the main entrances reflect this belief.

In 1995 an addition was built onto the main building.  The people involved with the renovation wanted to keep the original feel of the building and unlike many other Carnegie libraries, the addition closely matches the original.  Unless someone is looking for it, it can be hard to tell what parts of the library is the old building and which are the new. [Source]

Wicomico County Free Library, Salisbury, Maryland

[LIB6862] - Wicomico Public Library began as a subscription library in 1869, only two years after the formation of the county itself. By 1878 the library had increased its membership from 30 to 100 members. In the early 1900s interest waned and the library closed. It was successfully re-launched in 1916 and by 1923 was operating on a subscription of $1.00 a year. By 1925, the library was recognized as a needed community service and the idea of free library service in Wicomico County was born. The doors opened on February 2, 1926 as the Salisbury-Wicomico Free Public Library; open two afternoons and one evening a week. This became officially known as the Wicomico County Free Library with the approval of the certificate of corporation on June 24, 1927. The need for more space moved the library to High Street, in its own building in 1934. In 1948 the first bookmobile was purchased and began service. As services, patrons and materials increased, the library once again moved - to its present location on Division St. in 1963. In 1978 a major renovation started, which was completed in 1980. The building has essentially remained the same ever since.[Source]

1906 Haskell Free Library, Rock Island, Quebec and Derby Line, Vermont

[LIB6860] - The library collection and the opera stage are located in Stanstead, but the door and most opera seats are located in Derby Line. Because of this, the Haskell is sometimes called "the only library in the U.S.A. with no books" and "the only opera house in the U.S.A. with no stage". Its two addresses are 93 Caswell Avenue, Derby Line, Vermont and 1 Rue Church (Church Street), Stanstead, Quebec. A thick black line runs beneath the seats of the opera house and diagonally across the center of the library's reading room to mark the international boundary. The stage and half of the seats are in Canada, the remainder of the opera hall is in the US. The library has a collection of more than 20,000 books in French and English, and is open to the public 38 hours a week. The building is recognized as a historic site in both countries. In the United States, it has been registered in the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. In Canada, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1985 and has been a provincial heritage site since 1977. [Source: Wikipedia]