In the year 1902 Mr. Carnegie offered to furnish £2,000 towards the erection of a Public Library building for Normanton, on condition that the Council adopted the Public Libraries Act, levied the full 1d. rate and provided a site without paying for the same out of the library fund.
Subscriptions were raised for a site, and the present site in Castleford Road purchased on the 7th April, 1905. The Public Library building was erected by Messrs. R. Leake and Sons, of Normanton, and was formally opened on the 29th day of May, 1907 by the late Sir William Garforth, D.L., J.P. Mr. Carnegie gave a further donation of £400 to complete the cost of the library building. The Library is pleasantly situated on the southern end of Haw Hill Park, and is of brick with stone dressings. The style of architecture is Tudor, and was designed by the late Mr. A. Hartley, surveyor to the Council.
The building comprises news-room, magazine-room, central distributing room, reference library and a room specially set apart for the use of children. There is accomodation for 16,000 books. Mr. W.A. Robinson was the first librarian and a few extracts from his first report, covering only seven months will be interesting, as showing that the provisions of the library were appreciated by the inhabitants of Normanton and surrounding districts. The report says:-
"The issue of borrowers tickets commenced on June 6th. 52 being issued on the first day. There has been a continual increase and at the close of the year the number was 736, 711 are spread over all parts of Normanton, 14 Altofts, 5 Whitwood, 2 Streethouse and 4 Snydale Hall. The average daily issue has steadily grown and reached 59 per day during November. Total issue of books 8,837 volumes". The report also states ''That all the reading rooms have been well patronized, and I am happy to be able to speak in the highest terms of the order and decorum that has always been maintained.''
Andrew Carnegie, who furnished £2,400 for the building of the Normanton Free Library was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, in the year 1837. His father, who had been a chartist, emigrated to America in 1848. The son started work at an early age as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory. Later he acquired land in America which contained a number of oil wells, from which he made a good deal of money.
Later he became a great captain of industry, and developed the iron and steel industry at Pittsburg until he amassed almost fabulous sums of wealth. In the latter part of his life he distributed large sums for the building of schools, hospitals, libraries, etc.: amounting to over a hundred million pounds, it is said that he distributed over ten million pounds exclusively for libraries.
The Normanton Free Library is certainly fulfilling its functions in providing education and mental recreation for the inhabitants. Besides the 13 daily and 20 weekly newspapers which are regularly supplied, the librarian's report shows that no less than 26,277 books were issued in 1927 from the lending library. The Library is stocked with over 5,000 volumes and the various rooms are always kept clean, orderly and healthy. Mr. Doughty is the present librarian.
