In an echo of their founding, all three Somerville Public Library branches received grants from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. The Foundation gave $10,000 each to every library originally funded by Carnegie, an industrialist and philanthropist who died in 1919, in honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
All three of Somerville’s libraries were originally funded by Carnegie.
Being notified of the “surprise” grants was “the last thing I certainly expected to see in my inbox,” said Catherine Piantigni, the director of the Somerville Library and a library employee for 32 years.
Libraries can use the grants for any purpose.
The $10,000 grants were announced in October and dispersed a few months ago, and Somerville is now thinking about how it might apply them. Piantigni said each branch is waiting for a need or a potential improvement to arise before using the grant. The West Branch may use the funds to replace some furniture, including two chairs and a conference table that are showing wear, she said.
“I want to be very thoughtful about how we move forward with this funding,” Piantigni said. The libraries “are not in a hurry to spend the money.”
History of Carnegie libraries
Between 1886 and 1917, Carnegie funded the construction of 1,681 free libraries, 1,280 of which are still open today. Besides the Somerville libraries, there are 40 other Carnegie public libraries in Massachusetts, including in Revere, Saugus, Chelsea, and Reading. The state also has five academic libraries, including one at Tufts University.
In 1907, Andrew Carnegie gave Somerville $123,000 ($4.24 million in today’s dollars) to build a central library and two branches.
Before the West Branch opened at 40 College Ave. near Davis Square in May 1909, the branch operated out of local businesses where residents could pick up and drop off books. In 1912, the East Branch opened in a temporary space on Perkins Street before moving to its permanent location at 115 Broadway near Sullivan Square in March 1916. The Italian renaissance-style Central Branch, which got $80,000 of the grant, opened at 79 Highland Ave in Gilman Square in 1914.
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