Alden Public Library Building Description, ND

The new building is of a one story and basement construction and is fifty-two and one half feet long by twenty-six feet and ten inches deep. It is built of Buff Matt brick and the roof is of English Tile, making a building of very pleasing appearance. Coming in the main entrance one passes through a small ante-room into the main room of the building. All of the woodwork and furniture in this room is of Pollard oak. The walls are a light sepia tint while the ceiling is slightly darker. The ceiling is greatly improved by the addition of several heavy oaken beams. The severity of the shelving is pleasingly broken by the well placed windows and comfortable window seats. A fire place in the east end and the soft quiet tone of the floor covering adds a touch of dignity to this room. The semi-indirect lighting system sends a pleasant radiance over the whole. In the basement, aside from the usual rooms there is a large assembly hall which is intended for use as a general civic center.

Source: The Alden Times, ND

Andrew Carnegie Resources

  • Andrew Carnegie Bibliography
    –Carnegie, Andrew. An American Four-In-Hand in Britain. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1883.
    –Carnegie, Andrew. A Carnegie Anthology. Margaret Barclay Wilson, arranger. New York: Private print, 1915.|
    –Carnegie, Andrew. The Gospel of Wealth, and Other Timely Essays. New York: Century 1901, c. 1900.
    –Carnegie, Andrew. Triumphant Democracy: or, Fifty Years’ March of the Republic. New York: C. cribner’s Sons, 1888.
    –Carnegie, Andrew. The Empire of Business. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1902.
    –Carnegie, Andrew. The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie. Vartan Gregorian, contributor. New York: Public Affairs 2011.
    –Hendrick, Burton J. The Life of Andrew Carnegie. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1932.
    –Hendrick, Burton J. Louise Whitfield Carnegie; the Life of Mrs. Andrew Carnegie. New York: Hastings House, 1950.
    –Krass, Peter. Carnegie. New York: John Wiley & Sons, c. 2002.
    –Nasaw, David. Andrew Carnegie. New York: Penguin Press, 2006.
    –Wall, Joseph Frazier Wall. Andrew Carnegie. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, c. 1989.

Iowa Carnegie Library Resources

  • Bobinski, G. S. (1970). Carnegie Libraries: Their History and Impact on American Public Library Development. Chicago: American Library Association.
  • Carnegie Corporation of New York Records (CCNYR).
    –These are the microfilmed copies of the correspondence primarily between James Bertram, Carnegie’s secretary, and the communities requesting funds; any of Carnegie’s letters with the communities also appear in these microfilm records. The records begin with Reel 1 and are held by Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library located in New York.
  • Dennett, Meussig, and Associates Ltd. (1980). An Architectural and Historical Survey of Public Libraries in Iowa, 1870-1940: a Report Prepared for State Historical Department of Iowa, Division of Historic Preservation. Iowa City, IA: State Historical Dept.
  • Goldstein, D. (2003). “The Spirit of an Age: Iowa Public Libraries and Professional Librarians as Solutions to Society’s Problems, 1890-1940.” Libraries & Culture, 38(3), 214-235.
  • Hathi Trust. Source for Iowa Library Quarterly and Report of the Iowa Library Commission materials. [See ILQ and RILC listings below.]
  • Hudson, D., Bergman, M., & Horton, L. (Eds.). (2008). The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. Iowa City, IA: University Of Iowa Press.
  • Iowa Library Quarterly [ILQ].
    –The publication began as the Bulletin of the Iowa Library Commission, with the first volume dated January 1901. The quarterly publication of the Iowa Library Commission, edited by Alice S. Tyler (1901-1913) underwent further name changes, but by January 1907, it had become the Iowa Library Quarterly, and for clarity, that is how it will be referenced here. [Now available on HathiTrust.] These reports will be referenced by publication year, volume, and issue, and will be sourced as shown below:
    1901 ILQ 1.1 / Iowa Library Quarterly, Jan-Mar 1901, [page number].
  • Jones, T. (1997). Carnegie Libraries across America: A Public Legacy. New York: Wiley.
  • Koch, Theodore W. (1917). A Book of Carnegie Libraries. New York: The H. W. Wilson Company.
  • Kruty, P. (1983). “Patton and Miller: Designers of Carnegie Libraries”. The Palimpsest, 64(4), 110-122.
  • Martin, Robert Sidney, ed.  (1993) Carnegie Denied: Communities Rejecting Carnegie Library Construction Grants 1898-1925. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
  • Miller, D. R. (1943). Carnegie Grants for Library Buildings, 1890-1917: A List of Library Buildings, Public and Aacademic, Erected with Funds Provided by Andrew Carnegie and CarnegieCcorporation of New York. New York: Carnegie Corporation.
  • Pratt, L. G. (1977). The Counties and Courthouses of Iowa. Mason City, IA: Klipto Print. & Office Supply Co.
  • Report of the Iowa Library Commission [RILC].
    –These were the reports that were submitted by the Secretary of the Iowa Library Commission to the Governor of Iowa and were published by the Authority of General Assembly. During the Carnegie period in Iowa, Alice S. Tyler, the first Secretary of the Iowa Library Commission, compiled the First through Sixth Reports. She was succeeded by Julia A. Robinson, who compiled the Seventh through Eleventh Reports (until 1922). [These reports are now available on HathiTrust.] These reports are referenced by publication year and will be sourced as shown below:
    1st RILC (1904) / 1st Report of the Iowa Library Commission, coverage 1900-1903. (1904), [page number].
  • Shank, W. (1999). Iowa’s Historic Architects : A Biographical Dictionary. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press.
  • Stuart, S. L. [SLS] (2013). “‘My Duty and My Pleasure’ : Alice S. Tyler’s Reluctant Oversight of Carnegie Library Philanthropy in Iowa.” Information and Culture, 48(1), 91-111.
  • Van Slyck, A. A. (1995). Free to All: Carnegie Libraries and American Culture 1890-1920. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
  • Witt, J. M. (2003). The Carnegie Libraries of Iowa. Washington, MO: Robidoux Books.