When industrialist Andrew Carnegie launched his campaign to fund library construction in communities across the country, Ohio was a key focus of that philanthropy. According to Wikipedia, out of the 1,689 Carnegie libraries built in America between 1883 and 1929, 106 of them were located in the Buckeye State (111 is the number according to Ohio Carnegie Library historian Mary Ellen Armentrout). The buildings were pacesetting, not only in the quality of the architecture which found its way to small towns across Ohio, but also in the fact that the design promoted the then-revolutionary “open stack” approach to library use – something we take for granted today.

The fate of Ohio’s collection of Carnegie library buildings is a mixed one. Over the years, 10 of these landmark buildings have been lost, including the library in Marysville, which was demolished in the middle of the night. In places such as Galion, Norwalk, Paulding, East Liverpool and Sandusky, however, wonderful restorations and compatible expansions have guaranteed that future generations will continue to benefit by the combination of wonderful resources and architecture. Other structures, including the former library in downtown Delaware, have been restored for other uses.

Unlike California, however, where no Carnegie library has been demolished since 1978, at least five of Ohio’s Carnegie buildings – in Coshocton, Xenia and Middletown, and two branch libraries in Cleveland – sit vacant, and in the case of Middletown, is the current focus of a sheriff’s sale and likely demolition. In each, the library moved to new facilities at some point in the last thirty years, leaving their historic homes to an uncertain future.

This wonderful recent photo essay in UrbanOhio profiles the fate of six Carnegie buildings – three which have been successfully renovated, and the three of those which are endangered.

Photo:  Carnegie Library, Galion - Preservation Ohio File Photo