Richmond Rejects a Library: The Carnegie Public Library Movement in Richmond, Virginia, in the Early Twentieth Century

Following preliminary negotiations with Robert Whittet, in March, 1901, Andrew Carnegie offered to donate $100,000.00 to Richmond, Virginia, to erect a public library building. City Council agreed to accept the donation. However, after much controversy during several years, the matter was tabled due to the unwillingness of Council to appropriate the funds necessary to fulfill Carnegie's maintenance and site purchase requirements. Citizens cited many municipal services they felt needed funding more than a public library. Other social and economic conditions were also cited as reasons not to erect a public library. Attempts at reviving interest in a public library in 1904 and 1906 also failed. As a result of a more popular public library movement in the early 1920s, Richmond, Virginia, finally established its public library in 1924.