An Introduction to Andrew Carnegie
Elizabeth A. Edleman - LI839XI
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie, the businessman and philanthropist, has often been referred to as “the Patron Saint of Libraries” (Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2009), a moniker which he had truly earned. Carnegie lived the quintessential American success story - he was born in Scotland, to impoverished parents, and immigrated to the United States of America as a child. Once in the United States, Carnegie started working at the minimum age allowable by law at the time – 13 years – and successively moved his way up from working as a ‘scab’ at factory to helming a hugely successful steel company. He eventually became one of the richest men of his time.
However, unlike many of his wealthy contemporaries, Carnegie was not content to keep his money for himself, nor was he willing to give it away indiscriminately. Instead, he instituted a formal process to give away his accumulated wealth, living by his belief that “The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced” (Carnegie, 2006, p. 336). While many different institutions and causes benefited greatly from his philanthropy, one of his main projects was founding of public libraries across the country. Between 1886 and his death in 1919, and aided by his secretary James Bertram, Carnegie personally paid for the construction of 1,679 public libraries in the United States (Carnegie Corporation of New York), a move that not only sparked the growth of public libraries in the country but also encouraged and supported fundamental changes in librarianship.
However, unlike many of his wealthy contemporaries, Carnegie was not content to keep his money for himself, nor was he willing to give it away indiscriminately. Instead, he instituted a formal process to give away his accumulated wealth, living by his belief that “The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced” (Carnegie, 2006, p. 336). While many different institutions and causes benefited greatly from his philanthropy, one of his main projects was founding of public libraries across the country. Between 1886 and his death in 1919, and aided by his secretary James Bertram, Carnegie personally paid for the construction of 1,679 public libraries in the United States (Carnegie Corporation of New York), a move that not only sparked the growth of public libraries in the country but also encouraged and supported fundamental changes in librarianship.