Carnegie Library of Reims

The Carnegie Library of Reims is a public library built with money donated by businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to the city of Reims after World War I. Reims was one of three "front-line" cities to be given a Carnegie library, the other two being Leuven and Belgrade . Built in the 1920s, it combined the mission of heritage conservation and of reading public library. Until 2003, the Carnegie Library was the main library of Reims.The Art Deco decor of the Carnegie Library, the harmony of its proportions, the elegance of its architecture made it worthy of inclusion in the French inventory of Monuments historiques.HistoryThe municipal library of Reims was founded in the late eighteenth century with the books belonging to religious orders. In 1764, following the Suppression of the Society of Jesus in France, the books of Reims Jesuit College were confiscated. During the French Revolution, libraries of Reims abbeys and of the chapter of the Cathedral of Reims were also confiscated and added to the collections of Reims public library. The collections were first installed on the first floor of City Hall, where a small reading room opened to the public in 1818.The First World War marked a profound break in the history of the library. On May 3, 1917, an incendiary shell destroyed the town hall and a large part of the collections. The most valuable works (nearly 100 000 documents) were put away before the War and thus preserved from any damage. In 1918, the city of Reims was devastated. The municipality could not afford to finance the rebuilding of the public library without the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.