HOW PRIVATE LIBRARIES WENT PUBLIC
Public libraries have made knowledge available to all people. However, it wasn't always this way. Years ago, only the rich had libraries. They had rooms in their homes that held thousands of books that they kept for themselves or lent only to friends. A few towns had libraries, but a person had to pay to borrow the books. Colleges had libraries too, but only their students could use them.
When the United States was a new nation, it created the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. It was for the use of the members of Congress. However, when the British burned the city in 1812, it wiped out the collection. A new building was built, but there were no books. So Thomas Jefferson sold his own personal library to fill the shelves. Now the Library of Congress is the largest library on Earth.
Andrew Carnegie was a very wealthy American. He wanted everyone to be able to use a library. So in 1919, he donated the funds to build 1,700 public libraries. They went up all over the United States.