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Events
Jun. 30 | 2012 Bode-Pearson Prize
Nominations for the 2012 Bode-Pearson Prize for Outstanding Contributions to American Studies due
Jun. 30 | 2012 Mary C. Turpie Prize
Nominations for the 2012 Mary C. Turpie Prize for Outstanding Contributions to American Studies Teaching, Advising, and Program Development due
Oct. 1 | Travel Grants for Graduate Students
For submission guidelines, click here
Resources: Abstracts of American Studies Dissertations
By University | By Year
Van Slyck, Abigail A. "Free to All: Carnegie Libraries and the Transformation of American Culture, 1886-1917," University of California, Los Angeles, December 1989.
Between 1886 and 1917, Andrew Carnegie provided funds to build public libraries in 1,412 American communities. Although, as aesthetically conservative buildings, they play a minor role in the history of styles, Carnegie libraries provide useful insights into changes in turn-of-the-century American cultural life. The Carnegie Library Program helped to redefine the nature of American philanthropy; the Carnegie Corporation, charter in 1911, helped to dismantle the paternalistic basis of American philanthropy. Because Carnegie’s interest in efficiency brought attention to librarians’ practical (but previously ignored) requirements, the library program also helped redirect the development of American library design. Finally, by dealing exclusively with a recipient town’s elected officials, Carnegie effectively removed cultural matters from the hands of reform minded women who had established town libraries west of the Appalachians. Placed under the direction of the town’s cultural elite. Carnegie libraries often ignored working-class readers, catering instead of middle-class users.
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Encyclopedia of American Studies [editorial site]