copied from Wikipedia (because im too lazy to paraphrase):
built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist
Andrew Carnegie. A total of 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to
public and
university library systems.
1,689 were built in the United States,
660 in the United Kingdom and Ireland,
125 in Canada, and 25
others in
Australia,
South Africa,
New Zealand, Serbia, Belgium, France, the Caribbean, Mauritius, Malaysia, and Fiji.
this one is in the tiny town of Clarksdale Mississippi, which is just a hop skip and a jump down the road from "the Crossroads" where legendary Blues Singer Robert Johnson allegedly sold his soul to the devil for fame and fortune as a Blues Singer.
this is in my home town. it is now the historical museum (since 1969). i remember going there as a museum (barely!) when i was about 4. my mom was a school teacher and we went to the library a LOT when i was young.