15. The CARNEGIE LIBRARY 

(open weekdays 9-9, children's department 9-6; Sun., reading room only, 2-6), 126 Carnegie Way, NW., is housed in a rectangular, two-story building of Georgia marble designed by Akerman and Ross of New York and opened to the public in 1902. Tall engaged double columns with Ionic capitals frame the recessed entrance, which is arched to match the large windows across the facade. Beneath the dentiled cornice the names of classical writers are cut into the stone. From the lobby a broad marble stairway curves upward to the second floor. Covering the entire south wall of the reference room is a large mural, The Dawn of Learning, painted by Mrs. Farnsworth Drew, an Atlanta artist.

Prior to the War between the States Atlanta had no regular library service, although a few booksellers lent volumes at a low weekly rental. In December 1866, when Atlanta's young men had little money for entertainment, a group of them petitioned in the Atlanta Daily New Era for a reading room that would afford them intellectual improvement along with bodily warmth. The plan for a subscription library originated with Darwin Jones, a teller of the Georgia National Bank who had recently come south from Milwaukee. Citing examples of such institutions in Northern cities, Jones aroused other public-spirited young men, and a meeting was called in July 1867, which led to the formation of the Young Men's Library Association with an original membership of 47. A small room on Alabama Street was rented for $3 a month, and $15 was spent on shelving.

Unceasing financial difficulties were met with the proceeds from concerts, bazaars, lectures, and even spelling matches. Some additional income was realized in 1873, when young women were first admitted to membership. Funds were checked vigilantly; one librarian was asked to resign because of "faulty bookkeeping" as well as his candid habit of annotating the financial status of members on the books which were later read by the indignant subjects themselves. In 1883 an art loan exhibition, sponsored by the association, aroused unprecedented local enthusiasm for painting and brought a profit of $800. Lighter entertainment on this occasion was provided by tableaux vivants and a chess game with live pawns. Though never forgetting the high purpose of their enterprise, the members kept up their spirits by many gayeties, including frequent oyster suppers at Pease's Bar on Decatur Street.

The library was moved several times as it grew more popular and required more commodious quarters. In 1892, Eugene Mitchell, the president of the organization, suggested plans for securing a gift from Andrew Carnegie. In 1899 the famous philanthropist gave $100,000 for the construction of a building with the stipulation that the city provide a site and maintain the library at not less than $5,000 a year. In 1902 the Carnegie Library of Atlanta, the eleventh such institution to be established on the Carnegie plan, was opened in its present building. Anne ^Vallace, the first librarian under this system, was founder of the Georgia Library Commission, which extends service to rural areas.

In 1924 the Young Men's Library Association was officially dissolved and its records given to the Carnegie Library. Despite the depression of the 1930's, old services have been extended and new ones introduced. The library now owns approximately 190,000 volumes and maintains ten branches, two of which are for Negroes. 

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