Conclusion
Andrew Carnegie was not a perfect man; in fact, he was a man that a lot of people did not think too highly of regardless of his philanthropy. Some of his business decisions were extremely suspect, to say the least, and although he may not have been any worse than his contemporaries in regards to his employee’s working conditions and wages (Bobinski, 1969), that still does not mean that they were good. Furthermore, he seemed to be given to vanity and self-propaganda, editing and revising his own personal history when he saw fit (Krass, 2002). Krass reports that Carnegie’s own daughter, Margaret, told Carnegie’s official biographer after her father’s death, “Tell his life like it was. I’m sick of the Santa Claus stuff” (p. 536). However, there is no doubt that his philanthropy made a huge impact on both American librarianship specifically, and American society in general. In many areas of the country, he was almost single-handedly responsible for bringing libraries to the masses. Carnegie never required that any library he paid for used his name or paid tribute to him in any way and actually preferred that they did not, although some did regardless. Carnegie libraries still hold an important place in many of the communities where they were first build, even in some cases becoming historical landmarks, and remaining Carnegie libraries are now common targets for preservation (Jones, 1997). Jones said, “Because they were open and free to all, Carnegie libraries captured a singular place in the affections of every community graced by one” (p. 105). Overall, Andrew Carnegie, the “Patron Saint of Libraries”, was not formally associated with the library profession in any way, and had no training whatsoever in library science. And yet, as Bobinski pointed out, over all of his other professional work and philanthropic endeavors, the name ‘Carnegie’ has ended up being the most closely tied to public libraries.
Andrew Carnegie was not a perfect man; in fact, he was a man that a lot of people did not think too highly of regardless of his philanthropy. Some of his business decisions were extremely suspect, to say the least, and although he may not have been any worse than his contemporaries in regards to his employee’s working conditions and wages (Bobinski, 1969), that still does not mean that they were good. Furthermore, he seemed to be given to vanity and self-propaganda, editing and revising his own personal history when he saw fit (Krass, 2002). Krass reports that Carnegie’s own daughter, Margaret, told Carnegie’s official biographer after her father’s death, “Tell his life like it was. I’m sick of the Santa Claus stuff” (p. 536). However, there is no doubt that his philanthropy made a huge impact on both American librarianship specifically, and American society in general. In many areas of the country, he was almost single-handedly responsible for bringing libraries to the masses. Carnegie never required that any library he paid for used his name or paid tribute to him in any way and actually preferred that they did not, although some did regardless. Carnegie libraries still hold an important place in many of the communities where they were first build, even in some cases becoming historical landmarks, and remaining Carnegie libraries are now common targets for preservation (Jones, 1997). Jones said, “Because they were open and free to all, Carnegie libraries captured a singular place in the affections of every community graced by one” (p. 105). Overall, Andrew Carnegie, the “Patron Saint of Libraries”, was not formally associated with the library profession in any way, and had no training whatsoever in library science. And yet, as Bobinski pointed out, over all of his other professional work and philanthropic endeavors, the name ‘Carnegie’ has ended up being the most closely tied to public libraries.