Centennial of First Branch Library in New York City Built with Funds from Andrew Carnegie Celebrated on December 10
 
“Sixty-five libraries at one stroke probably breaks the record, but this is the day of big operations, and New York is soon to be the biggest of Cities.”
            — Andrew Carnegie, March 12, 1901
 
New York, NY, December 10, 2002 -- One hundred years ago this December, The New York Public Library opened the doors to its first branch library -- the Yorkville Branch, located at 222 East 79th Street between Second and Third Avenues. The building of the Yorkville Branch and 64 other free libraries in New York City from 1902 through 1929 was made possible largely through the spectacular $5.2 million gift from Andrew Carnegie in 1901. It was an unprecedented gift from one of the world’s richest men.
 
The New York Public Library marked the Yorkville Library centennial on Tuesday, December 10 at a 6:30 p.m. celebration at the branch. Speakers included Dr. Paul LeClerc, President of The New York Public Library; Sandra Priest Rose, Library Trustee; Eva Moskowitz, New York City Council Member; Susan Stewart, First Secretary, Scottish Affairs, British Embassy; and Dr. Brian Lang, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of St. Andrews, Scotland. The Yorkville Library centennial celebration was made possible by the American-Scottish Foundation, The Famous Grouse Finest Scotch Whiskey, and Walkers Shortbread.
 
“In Andrew Carnegie’s historic 1901 letter to John S. Billings, the first Director of the New York Public Library, he wrote about ‘the needs . . . of Branch Libraries to reach the masses of the people in every district,’” said Paul LeClerc, President of The New York Public Library. “The Library’s Branch system has, over the last 100 years, developed into a vast network of 85 locations serving millions of New Yorkers every year and indeed, people throughout the world via the Internet. Through all of the changes that have taken place between December 1902 and December 2002, New Yorkers still demand free and open access to information. The New York Public Library is committed to upholding these core values as central to our mission.”
 
The Yorkville Branch officially opened on December 13, 1902. The three story, three bay Beaux Arts style Indiana limestone building is a designated New York City Landmark and is listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places. Originally designed by architect James Brown Lord, the Yorkville Branch was fully renovated in 1987 with a combination of public and private funds contributed by Mr. and Mrs. Frederick P. Rose and the City of New York. This renovation became the basis for The Library’s Adopt-A-Branch program, begun in 1991, which continues Andrew Carnegie’s legacy of public-private partnership. During the renovation, the Yorkville Branch was thoroughly modernized, incorporating new computers, lighting, carpeting, furnishings, and a renovated adult reading room, named in honor of Mrs. Rose’s mother, Mildred Priest Frank.
 
“I am proud to take part in this centennial celebration at the Yorkville Branch,” said Mrs. Rose. “Libraries have historically been places where New Yorkers of all ages gather to read and to learn. It is especially gratifying to know that the Mildred Priest Frank reading room continues to introduce New Yorkers to the treasures that reside at the Yorkville Branch and in all of the other New York Public Library Branches across this city.”
 
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was born in Scotland, and after migrating to America, he began work at the age of 12 in a cotton factory. Carnegie grew up espousing hard work and education as the keys to personal and financial success. At age 14, he became a messenger at a telegraph office, later teaching himself telegraphy and becoming the personal assistant to the superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Pittsburgh line. He rose to claim his employer’s position and spent 12 years in the railroad business. Carnegie began investing in railroad and oil development, and recognizing the potential for steel in America, he opened the J. Edgar Thomson Steel Mill in Pittsburgh, PA, creating ways for American production to become more efficient.
 
By 1899 he consolidated all his interests into Carnegie Steel Company and by 1901 sold the company to JP Morgan’s U.S. Steel Company. He would spend the remainder of his life establishing philanthropic institutions and giving away 90% of his wealth. Before he died in 1919, Carnegie funded 2,507 libraries in the English speaking world; 1,689 in the United States; 65 in New York City; and 39 at The New York Public Library.
 
History of Carnegie’s gift to NYPL
In the 1890s, The New York Public Library grew out of the public’s increasing demand for access to books and educational opportunities. New York City had become one of the largest and most diverse cities in the world with a population of three million. Many early libraries were private or by subscription. A small number of libraries banded together to form The New York Free Circulating Library system, run by a board of trustees, but dependent on City appropriations for their survival.
 
The New York Public Library was established in 1895 by merging three private foundations -- the Astor and Lenox Libraries and the Tilden Trust -- into a non-profit library for the public. Its flagship building remains today on 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue as The New York Public Library’s Humanities and Social Sciences Library. These collections are today, as they were then, for research only, not for circulation.
 
After the formation of The New York Public Library’s research library, there were demands by press and public for libraries to address the needs of the average New Yorker. In 1901, The New York Free Circulating Library system was fully absorbed by The New York Public Library, and a Circulation Department was created to address the diverse reading and informational needs of the City’s residents and new immigrants. The Brooklyn and Queens library systems were formed separately, and all before New York City united its five boroughs in 1898.
 
Collections varied depending on the needs of communities and focused on literature for adults and children, lectures, and public education opportunities. But the funds to set up new branches or to replace dilapidated buildings were not in place. Andrew Carnegie’s gift on March 12, 1901, with its dependent clause holding the City responsible for branch operations and maintenance, was the answer.
 
The New York Public Library would build and operate 39 Carnegie branches in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island between 1902 and 1929.
 
Architecture of Carnegie Branches
Carnegie’s branches were important because they reflected the civic pride of New Yorkers, and represented New York City’s new humanitarian focus -- free libraries, education, and access for all.
 
An Advisory Committee of Architects was appointed to determine guidelines on branch design, materials, and character. Librarians participated in planning the interior spaces and flow, with concern for natural light, book shelving, and work space. For consistency and efficiency, it was decided that three firms would design most of The New York Public Library’s 39 Carnegie branches: Carrere and Hastings; McKim, Mead & White; and Babb, Cook & Willard.
 
Architect James Brown Lord had already designed the Yorkville Branch prior to the Carnegie gift. One of the former independent libraries, the Aguilar Branch was built and then renovated with Carnegie funds by architects Herts & Tallant. The firm of Walter Cook & Winthrop A. Welch designed two   branches in Manhattan.
 
All Carnegie branches have a simple formality that beckons users to enter through a prominent doorway, and make their way inside. Each branch has a lamp post or lantern outside, to symbolize enlightenment.
 
NYPL Today
Andrew Carnegie’s legacy of public-private partnership remains essential to the support of The New York Public Library today. In a unique program called Adopt-A-Branch, begun in 1991, this philanthropic idea is again being invoked to address a critical problem. With 31 of the original 39 Carnegie Branches still in operation, renovations and repairs to these century-old buildings are necessary. Adopt-a-Branch calls for private donors and government funders to join forces to make sorely needed capital improvements to aging branch libraries. To date, the total number of branches “adopted” has risen to 17. Renewal of these libraries has helped revitalize neighborhoods and provides new opportunities for community residents.
 
In some cases, renovations from one era have been removed in order to return branches closer to their original appearance. Simultaneously, The Library is working to update historic buildings in order to provide wiring for 21st-century technology, and ventilation systems that create a more stable environment for books and other materials. Book stacks and check-out systems are being updated, and wheelchair accessibility is being addressed throughout the system.
 
Branch libraries continue to be places of great community use and involvement. They are, as they were in Carnegie’s day, the place where a new immigrant can find a newspaper in his language, or a senior citizen can take a seminar. It is also the place where librarians guide people in search of information; children find storytellers; and branch users can access the Internet and its limitless resources for free. Today’s branch libraries are responding to the needs of their communities with an ever-growing number of services and resources, from print to electronic.
 
 
Contact: Jennifer Bertrand, 212-221-7676.

 

 

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