Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Downtown and Business Branch CLP.20170711.002
- Language
- English
- Repository
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Archives and Special Collections
- Title
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Downtown and Business Branch
- Collection Number
- CLP.20170711.002
- Extent
- 3 Linear Feet Six boxes textual materials including architectural and technical drawings, and two comb bound publications.
- Date
- 1923-2001
- Date
- 1970-1990
- Publisher
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Archives and Special Collections
- Address
- 4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
info@carnegielibrary.org
URL: http://www.carnegielibrary.org/
Content Description
This collection consists of correspondence and annual reports created by the staff of the Downtown/Business Branch and the administration of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. The collection's earliest papers are correspondence relating to the establishment of the Business Branch in 1924. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence between staff in the Downtown/Business Branch and the administration of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. The activities that caused the correspondence to be generated range from library thefts, building concerns like heating or leaks, staffing schedules as well as relocations and budgetary concerns. Additionally, there is correspondence relating to relocations of the branch. These relocations include: 1957 Kaufman Annex move also known as the Allegheny Building, 1975 Frick Building move, and the 1985 Mellon Bank Center relocation. The relocation correspondence includes architectural and technical drawings, invoices relating to furniture, fixture, and equipment purchases, and leasing correspondence. The collection also contains annual reports from 1924-2001 for the Downtown/Business Branch. The record is missing the following annual reports: 1927-1936; 1947; 1950-1968; 1978; 1997; and 2000.
There are also two comb bound volumes contained in the collection. The first is A Market Research Study on Economic Development and The Public Library 1989 created by SERS (Sorkin-Enenstein Research Service, Inc.) for the Lincoln Trail Libraries System of Illinois; and the second bound volume are materials including blueprints and images of the Pittsburgh City Center Project.
Arrangement
The records are arranged in two series: correspondence and reports. The first series has been further arranged into three subseries: individual correspondence, relocations/renovations/equipment, and miscellaneous correspondence. The first subseries in series one, individual correspondence, has been arranged by function, or the individual in possession of the papers at the time of their accession into the archive. When the papers were received at the archive they were in no particular order, however it was clear that each folder represented correspondence received from various individuals or created by a single individual. For example, J. Welbourne's correspondence might include items he authored as well as documents created by P. Craychee, among others, that were submitted to Welbourne during the normal course of business. Welbourne was the individual in possession of the documents, and he represents the individual responsible for the business function that created and used the document. This system of arrangement has been maintained in an effort to reflect the original order of the record. Similarly, the second subseries in series one has been sorted by relocation but left in the order of their original folders.
The second series, reports, has been arranged into two subseries: annual reports, and miscellaneous reports. The annual reports subseries has been arranged chronologically in ascending order. The miscellaneous reports have also been arranged chronologically.
Biographical / Historical
The Business Branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh was established on June 2nd 1924. The City Council earmarked $10,000 to establish the branch with the general mission of providing reference services to the business community located in downtown Pittsburgh. Additionally, the City Council provided space for the branch in the City County Building. At the time of establishment the Business Branch did not provide general reference services to the wider community. The Business Branch provided stock information to area businessmen as well as general reference services to this specific segment of the population. From the record it is unclear how it was determined that a patron belonged to the business community in order to receive service.
The Downtown Branch was established in 1943 to act as a lending agency for the general population since the Business Branch only served business interests. The Downtown Branch opened in the Union Trust Building with 3500 books and shared a space with the Business Branch. Even though the two branches were tenants in the same building they were separate branches and occupied different positions in the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh organization. Additionally, each branch had separate staff and a head librarian. Yet, there was considerable cooperation between the two groups in order to provide a high level of service to their patrons. Many patrons considered the two branches to be a single branch due to their shared location and collaborative efforts amongst the staff. The Downtown Branch provided general lending services and received a daily delivery of books from the Main Branch of titles that it did not have space to house. The Business Branch continued to provide reference services and business related information services. In 1971 there was discussion of merging the two branches into a single branch since they occupied the same space. However, the branches were not merged at that time. It was not until 1993 that the two branches were formally merged under a single Branch head. The new agency was named the Downtown and Business Information Center and headed by Pamela Craychee. At this time all records from both branches were merged into a single entity.
The Downtown/Business Branch has relocated numerous times in the past. The Business Branch was initially housed in The City County Building in 1924, however it had to move because the city controller's office needed additional space. In 1930 the Business Branch was moved to the Union Trust Building. The Union Trust Building was selected because it provided a very reasonable lease rate due to high vacancies in downtown Pittsburgh. It was during this time that the Downtown Branch opened in 1943. However, in 1950 the library needed to save money and moved the Business Branch into the general reference space outside of the downtown area in the central library in Oakland, and distributed the Downtown Branch throughout the CLP system. The branches remained separated for 18 months when it became apparent that the distance from the business area made serving their respective communities impossible. The separation from the business community was especially difficult for the staff of the Business Branch. In 1952 the City Council provided money for the branches to move into the Frick Building. However, after five years the space in the Frick Building was deemed inadequate due to an influx of users, so in 1957 the branches moved to the more spacious Kaufman Annex or Alleghany Building. Later, the branches would move back to the Frick Building in October of 1975. In 1985 the branches moved to the One Mellon Bank Center, until 1994 when a partnership with Pointe Park College created a unique opportunity for the recently merged Downtown and Business Branches. The Downtown and Business Information Center moved into The Library Center, previously known as the Bank Center Retail Complex, where it shared space with the Pointe Park College Library. Patrons were able to access both the Pointe Park College Library's resources and the CLP collections. The branch remained in The Library Center until August 6, 2004 when it temporarily closed until January 21, 2005. During the brief branch closure the library was moved into its current location on Smithfield Street in order to save an estimated $300,000-$400,000 annually on rent and fees.
The following individuals have papers in the correspondence series in the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Downtown/Business Branch Record: James C. Welbourne, Assistant Director and Head of Branches; Donald C. Potter, Senior Associate Director; Claire Pyle, Head of Reference Department and Head of Branches; Anna C. Hall, Associate Director; Sandra Thompson, Branch Librarian; Joseph Falgione, Deputy Director; Miriam Lerch, Branch Librarian; Ralph Munn, Director; Keith Doms, Director; Anthony Martin, Director; Robert B. Croneberger, Director; S. Griggs, Librarian; G. Shapera, Librarian; Pamela Craychee, Head of Business Department; Marion Hatch, Librarian; John Leete, Director; Philip Heidringer, Buildings and Grounds; Naomi Thomas, Head of Branch Services.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
There are no use restrictions.
Custodial History
The materials were transferred from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Downtown and Business Branch to William R. Oliver Special Collections Room
Accruals
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Downtown and Business Branch sends new materials to the Oliver Room on an irregular schedule.
Preferred Citation
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Downtown and Business Branch, William R. Oliver Special Collections, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh