Carnegie Library Donations

    Andrew Carnegie donated money for 1,688 public libraries in 1,419 communities.  This accounted for approximately half of all the public libraries in America.  Through these endowments, Carnegie made libraries accessible to the common person no matter what social background he or she came from.  The first of these libraries under the "free library program" was opened in 1893 just outside Fairfield, Iowa.  Pierce received a Carnegie endowment in 1911 in the amount of $4,000.  The Pierce Carnegie Library is one 69 Carnegie libraries in Nebraska and one of 767 in the Midwest funded through Carnegie endowments.