The Austin Public Library is a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

Austin, Minnesota Austin is a city in, and the county seat of, Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,174 at the 2020 census. The town was originally settled along the Cedar River and has two artificial lakes, East Side Lake and Mill Po ...

. It is a member of Southeastern Libraries Cooperating, the SE Minnesota library region.

History

The library began in 1884 out of the basement of the

Mower County Mower County () is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,029. The county seat is Austin. Mower County comprises the Austin Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Rochester-Austin Co ...

courthouse. By the turn of the century there became an increased need in more library space so the city of Austin reached out to

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

to petition for funds for a new building. An initial request for $25,000 was turned down and replaced with an offer of $12,000. Citing a growth in population the city requested more, and on October 3, 1901, Carnegie agreed to donate $15,000 with the stipulation the city agree to pay a $1,500 annual upkeep and maintenance fee on the building. Upon its completion the Austin Ladies' Floral Club donated 3,425 of the volumes in its own library to the new Carnegie library. The Carnegie building was the main public library of Austin until its replacement in 1996.

References

External links

Austin Public LibraryOnline Catalog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Mn Public Library Public libraries in Minnesota Education in Mower County, Minnesota Southeastern Libraries Cooperating Buildings and structures in Austin, Minnesota