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Secondary sourceBook1907

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: A Bit of History

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh · 1907

A 1907 short history of the Pittsburgh library funded by Andrew Carnegie, describing its board of trustees and his 1890 gift for a central building.

Records Carnegie's 1890 gift of one million dollars for the Pittsburgh library and how it was governed, a key example of his public giving.

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The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: A Bit of HistoryPDF · 24 pages
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: A Bit of History, 1907. Scanned PDF, Internet Archive.

About this source

What it is

This is a short booklet published in 1907 by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, titled The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: A Bit of History, with Some Pictures. It has about seven pages of text and a few illustrations. It describes the library as run by a board of eighteen trustees, half chosen as Carnegie's personal representatives and half as official representatives of the city. It states that in 1890 Carnegie gave one million dollars for a central building and branch libraries, and that the central building opened on 5 November 1895.

Why it matters

The booklet shows how a gift from one man was organized and governed. Its division of trustees between Carnegie's representatives and city officials reveals the partnership behind the library. It also tells readers that branch libraries and other services, such as schools and deposit stations, were built around the central building. The text was written by the library itself, so it presents the institution's own view of its history.

Look closer

  • Why might the library describe its board in such detail, and what does the balance between Carnegie's representatives and city officials suggest?
  • What does the booklet say about its own history, and whom might a library want to impress?
  • What questions about the city's public life does this short history leave unanswered?

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