Havana Public Library District Receives $10,000 Gift from Carnegie Corporation of New York

HAVANA, IL — The Havana Public Library District is overjoyed to receive a $10,000 gift from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the foundation established by Andrew Carnegie. The award is part of Carnegie Libraries 250, a special initiative celebrating the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and honoring the roughly 1,280 Carnegie Libraries still serving their communities across the United States.

Scottish immigrant Andrew Carnegie funded the construction of 1,681 free public libraries nationwide between 1886 and 1917. Approximately 750 of them continue to use their original buildings, while others have moved to new locations. Built in 1901 and opened in 1902, the Havana Public Library is one of 106 Carnegie Libraries in Illinois built through this historic program and is the oldest Carnegie library in Illinois still operating out of its original building.

“Our founder, Andrew Carnegie, who championed the free public library movement of the late 19th century, described libraries as ‘cradles of democracy’ that ‘strengthen the democratic idea, the equality of the citizen, and the royalty of man,’” said Dame Louise Richardson, president of Carnegie and former head of the University of Oxford. “We still believe this and are delighted to celebrate our connection to the libraries he founded.”

The Carnegie Corporation sent this generous gift in January 2026, stipulating that libraries may use the funds however they wish; the Havana Public Library District Board of Trustees has chosen to use the funds to repair the deteriorating masonry on the library’s North wall.