Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie contributed more than $56 million to building 2,509 public libraries worldwide, dubbed Carnegie libraries, to promote self-education. From 1901 to 1918, the Carnegie Corporation of New York spent $2,508,664 to build 164 libraries in the state of Indiana.
Pierceton’s library was granted on December 3, 1915 in the amount of $10,000. The library was opened to the public on April 26, 1918. Marie Shanton was the first librarian, earning a monthly salary of $37. The monthly electric bill was $5.20, and the telephone bill was $2.50. A book shower was held in October 1919, with 107 books received.
In 2007, the building was renovated to introduce the Indiana Room and Community Room.
The Indiana Room stores artifacts, papers, and books about local history. Newspapers from Pierceton, yearbooks from Pierceton schools, and antique books about Indiana can be explored in the room. As the room is usually locked, please ask a librarian to access it during your visit.
Some Indiana Room materials can be explored with the following digital resources:
- https://www.piercetonalumni.com/
- https://archive.org/details/piercetonschool
- https://archive.org/details/whitkocommunitydigitalimageproject
- https://archive.org/details/indianastatelibrary
