Library With A Historic Tie Earns Semiquincentennial Gift From The Carnegie Corporation

Press release from the White Plains Public Library:

by Julia Rae

The White Plains Public Library is proud to announce that it is one of 1,681 libraries to receive a $10,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation. This generous contribution comes as part of an early celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The White Plains Library’s story has deep Carnegie roots, as our original Carnegie Library was built in 1899, thanks to the generosity of Andrew Carnegie’s nationwide library program. By the early 1970s, the building could no longer meet the needs of a growing city. As White Plains underwent major urban renewal, the Library opened its current building in 1974, designed to be part of the new civic center and to embrace the latest technology of the time.

While we have moved beyond our original Carnegie building, the structure remains an important home to the Board of Elections, and the Library’s mission remains as vital as ever. We feel confident that if Andrew Carnegie were to stop by today and see our collection of over 200,000 volumes, our busy program schedule, and the community members of all ages and backgrounds finding peace and connection in the White Plains Library, he would know that he had accomplished his mission to create free and purposeful libraries.

We are deeply thankful to the Carnegie Foundation for awarding this grant to the White Plains Library. To learn more about this gift, visit the Carnegie Corporation website. Want to share your own memories of the White Plains Library? Submit your story here!

This press release was produced by the White Plains Public Library. The views expressed are the author's own.