[Mpls] Can the Public Library (and Democracy) Survive? [Headline from The Rake Magazine]

[Victoria Heller]

"The industrialist Andrew Carnegie built thousands of libraries at the turn
of the twentieth century, mostly throughout the United States and the
British Isles. It's possible that he sought historical redemption for the
rough manner in which some of his factory workers were treated. But the main
reason for this burst of altruism was that Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant
who scraped his way to the top, believed that education and assimilation
were necessary in order for immigrants to succeed in American society, which
he deemed a meritocracy. In his mind, libraries provided the perfect, public
opportunity for anyone with "good within them and ability and ambition to
develop it" to become prosperous and even unabashedly rich. "In a public
library," Carnegie once wrote, "men could at least share cultural
opportunities on a basis of equality." In other words, with access to books,
character alone would determine one's destiny."

....from a terrific article by Jennifer Vogel
in February 2005 The Rake Magazine
http://www.rakemag.com/features/detail.asp?catID=61&itemID=20442


....and another great article from Neal St. Anthony in the 2/8/05 
Strib on St. Paul's James J. Hill Library for entrepreneurs:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1069/5228079.html


Both examples of the private sector contributing more
than jobs and tax receipts....relayed by Vicky Heller
North Oaks (with additional thanks to James J. Hill)
and Cedar-Riverside