Carnegie Libraries

Q. What are Carnegie libraries

A. They are libraries built with money donated by the American multi-millionaire Andrew Carnegie.

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Q. Of Carnegie Hall fame

A. The same.

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Q. Who was he

A. Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) emigrated from Scotland to the United States in 1848. From a very poor family, he was working full-time at the age of twelve. Despite his background and the discrimination he faced as an immigrant, he built an industrial empire based on the manufacturing of steel, and after he sold his businesses and retired he was worth an estimated 400 million dollars. His rags-to-riches story confirmed his belief that America was a meritocractic society where anyone who worked hard, was smart and had a little luck could be successful

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Q. What made him give it all away then

A. Carnegie believed strongly in what he called the 'Gospel of Wealth'. Essentially, Carnegie believed that the accumulation of wealth by a few was inevitable in any capitalist society. Further, this concentration of wealth in the hands of a few was necessary for democracy and freedom to prevail and for society as a whole to be prosperous. Any attempt to circumvent this system would lead to anarchy and tyranny.

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However, Carnegie also believed that those who did make it had a moral obligation to give their fortune away before they died to benefit society. In particular, he believed that this money should not be spent in ways that might encourage laziness - charities that only dealt with symptoms and not the root of the problem, for instance - but in ways that created institutions to make opportunities for anyone with the right character to be successful and rich.

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Q. Why libraries

A. He had two main reasons for donating money to the founding of libraries. First, he believed that libraries added to the meritocratic nature of America: anyone with the right inclination and desire could educate himself. Second, he believed that immigrants like himself needed to acquire cultural knowledge of America in order to succeed, something which libraries allowed immigrants to do.

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Q. So how much did he actually give away

A. He gave away $333 million of his fortune on various activities including a programme to simplify spelling, helping churches, endowing - and in some cases founding - institutions of higher education and supporting the arts. However, his largest gifts were reserved for libraries, with over $55 million going towards them, prompting the nickname 'Patron Saint of Libraries'.

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Carnegie gave money to build 2,509 libraries throughout the English-speaking world, including the British Isles, Australia and New Zealand. Of these, 1,679 of them were built in the United States and in American possessions - some later to be incorporated into America - such as Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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Q. What about the buildings themselves - aren't they all very similar

A. Most of the Carnegie Libraries maintain a specific 'corporate' image inside and out, although each has an individual personality. However, wherever in the world these libraries are situated, they are instantly recognisable, with their Classical, Beaux Arts and Renaissance Revival style.

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Q. All in all a very generous man then

A. Staggeringly so. However, it should be added that he did have his critics. Some contemporaries believed that Carnegie was an egotist who liked the attention that he received from giving money away and that he relished having thousands of buildings named after him. Apparently Mark Twain always addressed Carnegie as 'Saint Andrew' for this very reason.

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But, whatever the reasons for his philanthropy, he did give away 90 per cent of his fortune during his lifetime. Had he lived another decade, he would probably have got rid of the lot.

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Carnegie at least had the courage of his convictions and practised what he preached.

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By Simon Smith