This book is a celebration of a legacy that has endured and continues to influence many millions of people each day. And what a marvelous legacy it is indeed! Mary Ellen Armentrout has traveled throughout the state to visit every community that received a Carnegie grant to build a library. Her years of travel and research culminate in this important visual and narrative history that documents what is arguably the philanthropic endeavor against which all others are measured, even a century later. The long-term societal impact of Carnegie's largesse is not easily calculated, although I think we can safely assume that Carnegie was aware of his potential impact in the world when he wrote that "I believe [a library] outranks any other thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is the never failing spring in the desert."

Carnegie envisioned free public libraries as cultural centers in their communities, recognizing that oftentimes they would be the only place available to people hungering for any type of enrichment. He did not intend for them to be monuments to him, although many communities insisted on placing his name on their library as a sign of appreciation for his generosity. He did request, however, that whenever possible, "there should be placed over the entrance to the Libraries I build a representation of the rays of a rising sun, and above "Let There Be Light."'

George W. S. Hays
Director/Clerk - Treasurer
Salem Public Library

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"Carnegie Libraries of Ohio"