> Carnegie's vast wealth single-handedly forced the idea of libraries that weren't just for rich university students, privileged religious orders or the mind-be

> Carnegie's vast wealth single-handedly forced the idea of libraries that weren't just for rich university students, privileged religious orders or the mind-bendingly affluent. The UK Public Libraries Act is from 1850. Boston Public Library was 1854. The first Carnegie library was opened in 1883, a whole generation later.