Abstract
THE fifth annual report (1918) of the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust was submitted by the executive committee to the trustees on February 26, and has now been published (Edinburgh: T. and A. Constable). The work of the Trustees suggests that, as it is the fashion now to create new Ministries, there is a splendid opportunity for the Prime Minister to appoint a Minister of Philanthropy. Mr. Carnegie, with the most benevolent intentions, spent about two millions on libraries, and, while undoubtedly many towns owe him gratitude for his gifts of fine buildings, we fear the balance would show that he probably did more harm than good. Many of these libraries have proved to be mere white elephants, their upkeep in many cases practically exhausting the whole of the available income, resulting in miserably paid and ineffective staffs, and nothing left for the purchase of books. In some cases less than 1l. has been spent on books during an entire year. Whether or not Mr. Carnegie realised this before the end of his personal benefactions we cannot tell, but he very wisely handed over a large sum to carefully chosen trustees, who from the first have laid themselves out to amend past mistakes and make sure that fresh benefactions should be granted with some surety of lasting good results; they have, therefore, steadily refused to make building grants where the yield of the rate is inadequate for the maintenance of a proper library.
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Carnegie Libraries and Educational Welfare . Nature 103, 253–254 (1919). https://doi.org/10.1038/103253b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/103253b0