James Bertram
Although Andrew Carnegie personally funded of all of his library grants, it would be remiss to discuss them without mentioning his secretary, James Bertram. Arguably, due to his hands-on role, Bertram was more involved directly with the process of giving away libraries than Carnegie himself was. Bertram was born in 1872, in Corstorphine, Scotland (Bobinski, 1969). In addition to sharing a home country with Carnegie, he also had a background in railroads (Nasaw, 2006), and Carnegie and Bertram got along very well together. Indeed, Nasaw said that Bertram “turned out to be the perfect secretary” (p. 537).
In addition to acting as Carnegie’s confidential secretary, Bertram was also deeply involved in Carnegie’s library philanthropy. He was the man responsible for corresponding with, and gathering information about, the communities applying for library grants (Jeffrey, 2009). To help library committees stay in budget while designing their new library, Bertram developed a widely-read pamphlet about library design; this, along with the requirement that his approval must be obtained on all library plans funded by Carnegie money, eventually made Bertram an influential figure in the development of the modern library building (Van Slyck, 1995). In many cases, it was Bertram who ultimately made the decision on whom to disperse funds to, with Carnegie only approving Bertram’s choices (Krass, 2002). Bertram took his job seriously and vetted communities asking for a grant thoroughly – so thoroughly that his repeated requests for additional information or clarification very often frustrated library committees (Jeffrey, 2009). Jones (1997) said “Bertram became the bane of library organizers across the country, who buried his desk under pleas for money every day” (p. 21). Like opinions on Carnegie himself, opinions on Bertram varied widely due to the role he played in the dispersal of Carnegie’s fortune. Bobinski said:
"James Bertram’s position was difficult. He had to decide on the disposition of a vast sum of money and see that it was properly expended, since every dollar donated had to be well spent. He judged proposals strictly on their merit….No worthy applicant was to be rejected, and, yet, no unworthy one was to be accepted. As a result, some felt that Bertram was inconsiderate, austere, legalistic, and overly critical, but those who knew him well characterized him as sympathetic, sincere, kindly, logical, practical, fair-minded, and socially affable. (p. 30).
Once the Carnegie Corporation of New York was founded in 1911, Bertram acted as its founding secretary until his death in 1934 (Bobinski, 1969), and he was a member of its first Board of Trustees (Krass). Along with Carnegie’s financial agent, Robert A. Franks, and Carnegie himself, Bertram was a member of the Corporation’s first Executive Committee, and along with the other two he made most of the Corporation’s funding decisions (Carnegie Corporation of NY, 2009). Bertram had Carnegie’s complete trust in business matters, and remained loyal to him and his philanthropic wishes long after Carnegie’s death (Krass). James Bertram died at the age of 62 in 1934; he was involved with the Carnegie Corporation of New York until his death (Bobinski).
Although Andrew Carnegie personally funded of all of his library grants, it would be remiss to discuss them without mentioning his secretary, James Bertram. Arguably, due to his hands-on role, Bertram was more involved directly with the process of giving away libraries than Carnegie himself was. Bertram was born in 1872, in Corstorphine, Scotland (Bobinski, 1969). In addition to sharing a home country with Carnegie, he also had a background in railroads (Nasaw, 2006), and Carnegie and Bertram got along very well together. Indeed, Nasaw said that Bertram “turned out to be the perfect secretary” (p. 537).
In addition to acting as Carnegie’s confidential secretary, Bertram was also deeply involved in Carnegie’s library philanthropy. He was the man responsible for corresponding with, and gathering information about, the communities applying for library grants (Jeffrey, 2009). To help library committees stay in budget while designing their new library, Bertram developed a widely-read pamphlet about library design; this, along with the requirement that his approval must be obtained on all library plans funded by Carnegie money, eventually made Bertram an influential figure in the development of the modern library building (Van Slyck, 1995). In many cases, it was Bertram who ultimately made the decision on whom to disperse funds to, with Carnegie only approving Bertram’s choices (Krass, 2002). Bertram took his job seriously and vetted communities asking for a grant thoroughly – so thoroughly that his repeated requests for additional information or clarification very often frustrated library committees (Jeffrey, 2009). Jones (1997) said “Bertram became the bane of library organizers across the country, who buried his desk under pleas for money every day” (p. 21). Like opinions on Carnegie himself, opinions on Bertram varied widely due to the role he played in the dispersal of Carnegie’s fortune. Bobinski said:
"James Bertram’s position was difficult. He had to decide on the disposition of a vast sum of money and see that it was properly expended, since every dollar donated had to be well spent. He judged proposals strictly on their merit….No worthy applicant was to be rejected, and, yet, no unworthy one was to be accepted. As a result, some felt that Bertram was inconsiderate, austere, legalistic, and overly critical, but those who knew him well characterized him as sympathetic, sincere, kindly, logical, practical, fair-minded, and socially affable. (p. 30).
Once the Carnegie Corporation of New York was founded in 1911, Bertram acted as its founding secretary until his death in 1934 (Bobinski, 1969), and he was a member of its first Board of Trustees (Krass). Along with Carnegie’s financial agent, Robert A. Franks, and Carnegie himself, Bertram was a member of the Corporation’s first Executive Committee, and along with the other two he made most of the Corporation’s funding decisions (Carnegie Corporation of NY, 2009). Bertram had Carnegie’s complete trust in business matters, and remained loyal to him and his philanthropic wishes long after Carnegie’s death (Krass). James Bertram died at the age of 62 in 1934; he was involved with the Carnegie Corporation of New York until his death (Bobinski).