The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Brookline Branch collection consists of seven series spanning from the 1930s into the early 2000s. The majority of the collection is made up of annual reports for the entire branch as well as annual and monthly reports for the branch's children's department. The collection also includes correspondence, documents, and newspaper articles regarding the branch. Drawings of the branch's building at 730 Brookline Boulevard are featured along with the plans for the 2004 renovation of the branch's current location. Finally, the collection also contains various photographs of the branch and its programs throughout the decades.
Although the bulk of the collection is its branch annual reports there remains missing years, especially during the 1950s and 1960s. The series on the children's department features a monthly report for every year beginning in 1935 and ending in 1989; however, not every year features an overall annual report.
Arrangement
The materials have been separated into seven series. Each individual series is arranged by year or subject. The first five series deal mainly with the branch as a whole and are arranged starting with the annual reports and ending with the records on the renovation of the library's current location. The sixth series focuses entirely on the branch's children's department, and the seventh series features photographs of the branch. Since most of these photographs are associated with the children's department, the series has been placed after the sixth series.
Although a majority of the collection's photographs are a part of the seventh series, there are some photographs of the library and/or events associated with the library that were kept with their corresponding documents or reports as a way to protect the original order of the collection.
Biographical / Historical
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Brookline Branch is located in the Brookline neighborhood of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The branch was first opened by the Carnegie Library in 1930. Its first location was in a rented store building at 802 Brookline Boulevard with Glenn Myers as the first branch librarian. In the beginning the branch's staff was shared with the nearby Carrick Branch of the Carnegie Library.
The library quickly gained a strong presence in the community. It was constantly outgrowing its spaces, needing more room and a newer facility. By 1941 the library had moved from its locations twice. Brookline citizen Morris Rosenberg, a Polish immigrant who had learned English through the reading of books, decided to construct a new building for the library. Rosenberg then leased the building to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and the new one-story facility was officially opened in January of 1942 at 730 Brookline Boulevard.
Brookline Branch continued to grow through the next two decades. During the mid-1960s, staff began noticing the deteriorating condition of the library's twenty-year-old building. The Carnegie Library pressed the owners of the building to make much-needed repairs; however, by the early 1970s discussions were underway for a possible new location for Brookline Branch. Plans of opening a library and parking garage complex were discussed as well as moving into different buildings, but nothing ever came to fruition. The building at 730 Brookline Boulevard was ultimately sold to new owners in 1980.
Even though the Brookline Branch remained at its location, discontent amongst the staff and patrons of the branch continued into the 1980s. By 1986 the branch had acquired a new head librarian named Arthur Stewart. Stewart helped in revitalizing Brookline Branch's Friends of the Library group, a group that would become influential in the opening of a new branch building. The need for a new building seemed obvious to the library's patrons and staff as the branch had greatly increased its number of volumes as well as its number of cardholders. The citizens of Brookline – spearheaded by the Friends of the Library and the Brookline Area Community Council – began to plead with the Carnegie Library and the City of Pittsburgh for a new facility for their beloved library.
Brookline Branch finally relocated to 708-710 Brookline Boulevard, holding its grand opening on April 20, 1991. In May of 2001 the Brookline Branch building was purchased by the City of Pittsburgh. The Carnegie Library agreed to lease the building from the city for another fifteen years. The library building at 708-710 Brookline Boulevard was greatly renovated in February 2004 by opening the front of the building into a two-story space and adding more windows. Designed by Pittsburgh firm Loysen & Associates/Loysen & Kreuthmmeier, the renovated building remains as the home of the Brookline Branch of the Carnegie Library.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
There are no use restrictions.
Custodial History
Transferred from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Brookline Branch to the William R. Oliver Special Collections Room
Accruals
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Brookline Branch sends new materials to the Oliver Room on an irregular schedule.
Preferred Citation
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Brookline Branch Collection, William R. Oliver Special Collections Room, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
