Find a Carnegie Library Near You

An interactive map based on historical data allows Americans to learn more about the nearly 1,700 public libraries built in the United States

By Carnegie Corporation of New York February 11, 2025

Libraries

Carnegie Libraries hold a special place in American history and in the hearts of generations of Americans. Building them was the mission of Scottish immigrant, American steel magnate, and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919). His foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, produced a definitive study of the library program in 1963, and today, that historical data is available through the Carnegie Libraries Mapping Project — an interactive map that captures Andrew Carnegie’s unprecedented philanthropic achievement, which brought hundreds of libraries to American communities across the country.

Starting in 1881 with a gift of a library to his birthplace of Dunfermline, Scotland, Carnegie — and later his foundation — gave some $56 million to build 2,509 public libraries. Of these Carnegie Libraries, 1,681 were built in the United States. The rest were located in other parts of the English-speaking world, ranging from Great Britain to New Zealand, and from South Africa to the West Indies. In addition to gifts for public libraries, Carnegie funded 108 library buildings on college campuses in the United States, which are also included in the mapping project.

Some of the original library buildings no longer exist or have been repurposed in various ways. We’d love to know more about the current use of the Carnegie Library in your neighborhood. Send us your photos and stories.

Learn more about Carnegie Libraries across America, our foundation's continuing support of libraries, and timeline milestones from our history to today.