page_title: Pima County Public Library
section_title: Early History
hierarchical_section_title: Pima County Public Library / Early History
caption_attribution_description: English: Carnegie Free Library
context_page_description: The Pima County Public Library system serves Pima County, Arizona with a main library and 26 branch libraries as well as bookmobile service. The system has its headquarters in Tucson. The service area includes the city of Tucson and the surrounding communities of Arivaca, Green Valley, Sahuarita, South Tucson, Ajo, Vail, Marana, Casas Adobes, and Catalina. The town of Oro Valley's library joined the Pima County Public Library system in July 2012.
context_section_description: On July 8, 2014, in the Arizona Daily Star newspaper, historian David Leighton published news of his rediscovery of the first known public library in Tucson. The 1867 Territorial Library, created by the territorial government for the 10 years that Tucson was the capital of the Arizona Territory, 1867-1877. How large was it? In January 1877, the Territorial Library had 1,900 legal books and 300 non-legal volumes, which could be checked out by the public during regular hours.
  In 1879, a group of women in Tucson began the Tucson Library Association, which was a private organization where members paid a subscription fee to help buy the books that they could borrow. Subscription libraries were popular in the west during this time, but excluded people who could not pay the fees. In March 1883, The women of the Tucson Library Association offered to give their whole private collection to the City of Tucson, if the city council would provide a room and other needed items for a free library. 
  On June 5, 1883, the city council dedicated the second floor of the new city hall for the purpose of a library, but didn't set aside any money to buy things like book shelves and furniture. It was not until July 6, 1886, after money was raised for the needed items, that the Tucson Public Library first opened its doors. The public library was in the original City Hall (building that also housed local prisoners.
  In 1899, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie offered $25,000 to build a public library building in Tucson, if the city council would set aside land and guarantee a fund of $2,000 a year for its upkeep. The city council passed Resolution #20 in 1899, which provided land that was part of the Military Plaza for the site and set up the Library Fund. The new Carnegie Free Library opened in 1901.
  In 1901 in response to a contest, the City of Tucson was gifted $25,000 by Andrew Carnegie to build the iconic Carnegie Public Library (1901 - 1934).  It was designed by Henry C. Trost. Carnegie committed to paying up to $25,000 to build a new library on the condition that the City of Tucson supplied a building site and provided $2,000 per year to maintain the library. The Tucson Common Council made good on this deal by passing Resolution Number 20. This resolution earmarked $2,000 per year for library maintenance, and designated a site for the library. The site used constituted a portion of Military Plaza.  
  Today, the building is the Children's Museum Tucson.
caption: Carnegie Free Library designed by Henry C. Trost
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