Monroe County’s Carnegie Library is celebrating its centennial anniversary.
The Bloomington landmark was dedicated in 1918 in the name of Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish philanthropist well-known for his success in the American steel industry.
Dana Duffy is a Community Engagement Librarian with the Monroe County Public Library. She says the building first housed the county’s public library, and was repurposed in 1980.
“To transfer it to a historical center I think makes perfect sense because it’s a historical building and it’s a building that reflects the community,” she says.
Duffy says Carnegie invested in thousands of public libraries across the country, creating a lasting legacy that has been preserved through the center for years.
“You’re not giving thing’s away, you are providing for people to make their own path and I think that was probably his legacy,” she says.
Indiana has more Carnegie libraries than any other state with 164 libraries in 155 communities.