The Carnegie Library is a historic Carnegie library located at Muncie,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

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. The building houses the Local History & Genealogy collection and an open computer lab. The facility also provides wireless access and a meeting room for local groups to reserve. It is one of four branches that make up the Muncie Public Library System. The building was made possible through a financial donation to the City of Muncie by Andrew Carnegie to expand their library system throughout the community. The foundation for Carnegie Library was built in 1902 and the building opened to the public in 1904. It has been in continuous use as a library since its opening. The building is located in downtown Muncie at the intersection of Jackson and Jefferson.

History

The Carnegie Library was dedicated on January 1, 1904. The library was built after a donation of $55,000 was given to the City of Muncie by

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 in ...

, with the goal to assist them in expanding their library system throughout the community. The library was one of the first structures in Indiana built from the funding of Andrew Carnegie, who was a major

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, who supported library systems throughout the world. The plot of land where the building is located was a gift from local businessman George Spilker. , the library continues to house the local history and genealogy department of the Muncie Library System.The Historical Structure Report Phase II. Rep. Muncie: Muncie Public Library

Architecture

The design and building of the library was conducted by the architectural firm of Wing and Mahurin of

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

. The exterior structure is made of

Indiana Limestone Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone ...

and modeled after Greek and classical architectural forms. The exterior of the building remains in its original state. The neoclassical architectural style includes a Romanesque dome located on the roof, in the central part of the library. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs.

Local history and genealogy

The Carnegie Library offers a variety of resources to aid researchers in discovering local history and their ancestry. Some of the resources include: cemetery records; census records; county histories and records; court documents; directories; family histories; funeral home records; microfilm for various Muncie and Delaware County newspapers from 1837–present; obituaries; Sanborn fire insurance maps for 1883, 1887, 1889, 1892, 1902, and 1911–1950; and vital records such as marriage, birth, and death records from the 19th and 20th centuries.

References

External links

Muncie Public Library

Muncie Public Library Historic Documents
Digital Media Repository, Ball State University Libraries
"What Middletown Read" database
A collaborative project between the Center for Middletown Studies, Muncie Public Library, and Ball State University Libraries {{National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Carnegie libraries in Indiana Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Neoclassical architecture in Indiana Library buildings completed in 1904 Education in Delaware County, Indiana Buildings and structures in Muncie, Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Muncie, Indiana 1904 establishments in Indiana

History

Architecture

Local history and genealogy

See also

References

External links