His philanthropic interests centered around the goals of education and world peace. One of his lifelong interests was the establishment of free public libraries to make available to everyone a means of self-education. There were only a few public libraries in the world when, in , Carnegie began to promote his idea. Carnegie set about disposing of his fortune through innumerable personal gifts and through the establishment of various trusts.
Each of the organizations established by Andrew Carnegie has its own funds and trustees and is independently managed. Carnegie Corporation of New York , founded in "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is the largest and the most broad in scope of the Carnegie philanthropic organizations.
Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs , founded in as The Church Peace Union , is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to research and education in the field of ethics and international affairs. The trust maintains the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace , founded in , is a nonprofit organization, conducting programs of research, discussion, education and publication on international affairs and U.
More than a century ago, Andrew Carnegie believed that the greatest contribution that residents of this city could make was to support a public library. He believed strongly that financial support from residents was the most effective way to maintain a strong relationship between the community and its library.
Since its inception in , Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh continues to build community, enable learning and provide equal access for residents of all abilities, skills and backgrounds. Comfortable library spaces in neighborhoods welcome people to read, to think, to learn, to share and to teach each other. Children and teens learn and grow; adults exchange ideas, acquire new skills and expand their understanding; and every person in our community has access to ideas, information and items—in person or electronically.
Skip to content. By Vartan Gregorian September 30, Today, we so often take for granted the existence of free public libraries that their extraordinary history and significance is almost lost to us. Libraries are the critical component in the free exchange of information, which lies at the heart of our democracy. American public libraries grant all people access to an ever-growing compendium of human knowledge. The library is the most natural, capable, and democratic institution for centering and connecting diverse communities of people not just in a physical space but also through the free and open provision of books.
In both the actual and symbolic sense, the library is the guardian of freedom of thought and freedom of choice, standing as a bulwark for the public against manipulation by various demagogues. Hence, it constitutes the finest emblem of the First Amendment of our Constitution.
The earliest American libraries had their beginnings in New England with subscription libraries, whose collections were accessible only to subscribers who could afford the membership fee. Writing an impassioned letter to the editor of the Pittsburgh Dispatch in , six months short of his 18th birthday, he argued that he should be allowed to use the library without paying the membership fee.
In Massachusetts was the first state to pass an act authorizing one of its cities, Boston, to levy a tax for the establishment of a free public library service. Other states were soon to follow. By , 25 states had passed laws enabling public libraries; but legislation alone was not enough to bring these libraries into existence. By , there were still only public libraries in the US holding 1, volumes or more. Beginning in , he used his personal fortune to establish free public libraries throughout America, and by his death he had built nearly 1, libraries in the United States.
His great interest was not in library buildings as such but in the opportunities that free circulating libraries afforded men and women—young, old, and in-between—for gaining knowledge and developing understanding.
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