Carnegie Libraries
Worldwide
1881 - 1917

Country *** Number of Buildings Built *** Total Cost per Country

United States of America *** 1,681 *** $ 41,233,853.47

Canada *** 125 *** $ 2,556,660

United Kingdom and Ireland *** 660 *** $ 11,849,457.50

New Zealand *** 17 *** $ 194,460

South Africa *** 12 *** $ 139,000

West Indies *** 5 *** $ 66,500

Australia and Tasmania *** 4 *** $ 70,000

Seychelles *** 1 *** $ 10,000

Mauritius *** 1 *** $ 9,000

Fiji *** 1 *** $ 7,500

Totals *** 2,507 *** $56,136,430.97*

* Includes $ 13,067,592.31 paid by the Carnegie Corporation of New York(from 1911 onward), of which $ 1,286,000 was paid from the British Dominions and Colonies Fund. The Carnegie Corporation of New York was not chartered until 1911. Up until that time, all library grants came from Andrew Carnegie's private office in New York City. By 1911, Andrew Carnegie realized that he was not giving his money away fast enough; he was still making alot of money through dividends and interest for the stocks, bonds, and cash he still had. He was at risk of dying wealthy, which he considered to be a disgrace. Hence, the Carnegie Corporation of New York was established to help him give away his money!

Additionally, Andrew Carnegie chartered a Deed of Trust for the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust on 1913 October 3; it was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1917. Originally Andrew Carnegie had wanted to transfer $ 10 million, to begin this Trust, from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. When told that such a transfer would be illegal(the money in the New York corporation could only be used in the United States), he took $ 10 million in bonds, which he had retained for personal use, and dedicated the bonds to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust.

Credit: Much of the information for this web page on the "Carnegie Libraries Worldwide 1881 - 1917" came from the book Forty years of Carnegie giving; a summary of the benefactions of Andrew Carnegie and of the work of the philanthropic trusts which he created, by Robert M. Lester.