FRESNO COUNTY – The Fresno County Public Library has received some significant financial backing from a national foundation.
Announced in an April 21 press release, the Carnegie Corporation of New York awarded $40,000 to the Fresno County Public Library as part of a nationwide initiative recognizing libraries originally established through funding from Andrew Carnegie.
The funding commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence and honors the lasting impact of Carnegie libraries across the United States.
Fresno County Public Library originally received $10,000 for each of its four Carnegie library sites: Clovis, Sanger, Selma and Fresno. While not all the original buildings remain, each location represents an important chapter in the development of library service throughout Fresno County.
“This recognition highlights the foundation that Carnegie libraries helped create in communities throughout Fresno County,” Sally Gomez, Director and County Librarian of the Fresno County Public Library, stated in the press release. “Even where the original buildings are no longer standing, their purpose continues through the services and access we provide today.”
The original Fresno Carnegie Library, completed in 1904 with a $30,000 grant, provided the community’s first permanent public library building and helped lay the foundation for the county’s library system.
In Selma and Sanger, Carnegie-funded libraries served their communities for decades before being outgrown and eventually replaced. The Clovis Carnegie Library, built in 1914, remains the only surviving Carnegie library building in Fresno County and continues to serve the community today as the Clovis Chamber of Commerce and Community Hall.
Although several of the original buildings no longer exist, their legacy continues. At the site of the original Fresno Carnegie Library, that history was recently brought back into focus when bricks from the building were uncovered during Carnegie Parking Garage construction. One of those bricks is now preserved at the Library’s Heritage Center.
The library is currently reviewing how this new funding will be used and is considering opportunities to highlight and promote the history of each of these communities, connecting residents with the stories of their local libraries and the role they have played over time.
According to the press release, between 1886 and 1917, Carnegie funded the construction of more than 1,600 public libraries in the U.S., based on his belief that libraries are essential to an informed and engaged community.