Philanthropy and Light: Carnegie Libraries and the Advent of Transatlantic Standards for Public Space (original) (raw)
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Opened in 1904, the Carnegie public library in Danville, Illinois, was much praised as a civic institution, not only for the services it provided but also for its impressive architectural presence. Responding negatively to a request made in 1910 by the Danville Library Board for additional funding to enlarge the library, Andrew Carnegie's private secretary and overseer of building applications and plans, James Bertram, was retrospectively critical of what he viewed as the space-wastefulness of the original Danville design. Using this criticism as a sounding board, as well as by drawing on ideas about library architecture debated by librarians over the previous generation, this article attempts to highlight the progressive elements of the Danville design, thus suggesting the possibility of a wider re-reading of the Carnegie library building type, including buildings designed before the more systematic scrutiny and guidance introduced by Carnegie from 1908.
Library & Information History, 2010
When it was announced in 1997, Bill Gates' library philanthropy programme attracted a tremendous amount of media attention. A central feature of that coverage was a renewed interest in Andrew Carnegie's library building programme. While identifying the historical similarities between Carnegie and Gates is an interesting exercise, failure to ground these comparisons in a critical policy analysis frame that attends to the political economy of largescale private philanthropy seriously limits, if not jeopardizes, the public library community's ability to respond to the broader cultural implications of Gates' library programme. Here, the radical philanthropic approach is used to frame a historical analysis of Andrew Carnegie's philanthropy as a response to the contemporary class warfare of the period, within which he was deeply implicated. Unpacking Carnegie's library philanthropy for its ideological importance in the struggle over the ownership and control of the...
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Philanthropy is regarded as a voluntary private virtue for public good. Terms like Gifting, charity, fundraising, contributions, generosity, donations, aid, bequests, offerings, handouts, patronage are sometimes synonymously or interchangeably used for philanthropy. There are public, private, corporate philanthropic foundations all over the world, that work in collaboration with NGOs and other governmental organisations towards social good. Despite economic challenges faced worldwide, global philanthropy is predicted to continue its growth. In the age of declining financial assistance for libraries, uncertain economic condition, budget cuts libraries are facing a lot of economic crunch. To preserve libraries, philanthropy is most crucial and essential. Most of general public do not have multi-million dollar fortunes to donate, but this does not mean that smaller donations have less impact than larger ones. Libraries depend on various forms of giving. This paper investigates philanthropy with special reference to libraries in India.
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