"There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration."
— Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie, a highly influential philanthropist and businessman, dedicated much of his life and self-made fortune to educational causes.
His strongest philanthropic initiative, driven by his strong belief in and passion for free education, was the creation of 2,509 free public libraries around the world. In total, he spent $2,556,600 on the construction of 111 libraries in Ontario and another 14 elsewhere in Canada. These funds contributed significantly to the development of literacy in small communities across this province. Learn more about Andrew Carnegie.
* Photos courtesy Ontario Public libraries and/or public.
Click on photos to enlarge (where available).
This list includes all of the Carnegie libraries in Ontario that are still operating as public libraries.
Beaverton Public Library (Brock Township Public Library)
Campbellford (Trent Hills Public Library)
Mitchell Public Library (West Perth Public Library)
Renfrew Public Library
Stirling Public Library
Thorold Public Library
Adaptively Re-used
The following Carnegie buildings no longer operate as libraries, but instead have been adapted and now serve other purposes within the community.
Aylmer
Ayr
Barrie
Brampton
Dundas
Essex
Exeter
Forest
Galt (Cambridge)
Glencoe
Gravenhurst
Grimsby
Hamilton
Kemptville
Merritton
Midland
Milverton
Niagara Falls
Norwich
Perth
Peterborough
Preston
Simcoe
St. Thomas
Stouffville
Toronto Public Library — Central Reference Branch
Toronto Public Library — Queen & Lisgar Branch
Wallaceburg
Waterloo
Welland
Whitby
Demolished
This is a list of Carnegie libraries that have been demolished or destroyed.
Berlin
Chatham
Collingwood
Cornwall
Grand Valley
Guelph
Leamington
Mimico Branch (Toronto Public Library)
North Bay
Oshawa
Ottawa
Sarnia
Sault Ste. Marie
St. Catharines
Tillsonburg
Windsor