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Andrew Carnegie can be considered the patron saint - or the Johnny Appleseed - of American public libraries. Between 1886 and 1918, Carnegie gave more than $56 million to build 1,697 public libraries in 1,412 American communities. In Florida his gift to communities totaled $208,000 to build ten libraries, in addition to $10,000 for one academic library at today's Florida A&M University. Each building is individual, yet they stand together as a group, the product of one man's noble ambitions.
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Born in 1835 in Dumferline, Scotland, Andrew Carnegie's belief in the value of libraries began when he was young. His father organized a library for his fellow weavers, and devised one of the first 'workplace literacy' programs where one weaver read aloud while the others worked. After immigrating to Allegheny, Pennsylvania, the young Carnegie benefited from the library established by Colonel J. Anderson for working class men and boys. "… it was when reveling in the treasures which he opened to us that I resolved, if ever wealth came to me, that other poor boys might receive opportunities similar to those…" Carnegie wrote in an 1889 North American Review article.
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After making a fortune in the steel industry, Carnegie made good on his promise and embarked on a career in philanthropy. "The man who dies rich, dies disgraced," he wrote, and by the time of his death in 1919 he had given away more than 90 percent of his fortune. The philanthropic Carnegie Corporation he founded in 1911 still thrives, investing millions in humanitarian and educational causes, including libraries, world peace, and education. Further, the methods Carnegie developed for granting funds contributed to the evolution of American philanthropy. The Carnegie Corporation introduced many practices still in use today including standardized application forms, criteria for judging applications, and processes for administering funds.
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While Carnegie's initial investment of $208,000 of grants in Florida might seem small by today's standards, each dollar from the corporation engendered considerably more from local public funds. Carnegie required a capital match from communities in the form of donated land and, most importantly, a commitment to provide annual operating funds of at least 10 percent of the value of his grant. Nationally 225 communities rejected Carnegie grants, in part because they couldn't or didn't want to sustain operating expenses for a library. In Florida, both DeFuniak Springs (1904) and Pensacola (1916) turned down Carnegie grants for this reason. Of the eleven Florida Carnegies, seven remain standing. Two-the Mirror Lake Branch in St. Petersburg and the West Tampa Carnegie--continue to operate as public libraries, while the rest serve a variety of other functions. The Jacksonville Carnegie is now in private use as a law office.
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Florida's Carnegie Libraries
Bradenton
Bradenton Carnegie Library
1405 4th Avenue West
1917; $10,000 Carnegie grant
This Classical Revival style building was restored in the 1980s and is now used as the Manatee County Historical Records Center. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Jacksonville
Old Jacksonville Free Public Library
101 East Adams Street
1902; $55,000 Carnegie Grant
Rehabilitated in the 1980s for use as private offices. Formerly the main headquarters of the Jacksonville Public Library System. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Palmetto
Palmetto Carnegie Library
515 10th Avenue
1914; $10,000 Carnegie grant
A Classical Revival style building now home of the Palmetto Historical and Cultural Center.
St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg Public Library, Mirror Lake Branch
280 5th Street North
1915; $17,500 Carnegie grant
A classic Carnegie library designed in the Beaux Arts style, this building was St. Petersburg's first public library. It has been restored and is still used as a public library. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Tampa
West Tampa Branch, Hillsborough Public Library System
1718 North Howard Avenue
1913; $17,500 Carnegie grant
A Beaux Arts style building still in use as a public library.
Old Tampa Carnegie Free Library
107 East 7th Avenue
1910; 50,000 Carnegie grant
Rehabilitated in 1999 by the City of Tampa for public offices. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Tallahassee
Carnegie Library
FAMU Campus
1906; $10,000 Carnegie grant
A columned porch distinguishes this Classical Revival style building that now houses the FAMU Black Archives. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lost Carnegie Libraries
Bartow
1911; $8,000 Carnegie grant
Demolished in 1998
Clearwater
1915; $10,000 Carnegie grant
The original building has undergone at least four expansions and is no longer discernible as a Carnegie library.
Gainesville
1916; $10,000 Carnegie grant
Demolished in 1954
Ocala
1907; $10,000 Carnegie grant
Demolished in 1968
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