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The
Alexander Mitchell Library Foundation |
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"A
library outranks any other one thing
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| The Alexander Mitchell Library
Foundation shall have as its basic purpose the promotion of the continued
growth and development, the general welfare and the public relations of
the Alexander Mitchell Library in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
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| Andrew Carnegie gave $15,000 to
construct the first library building in Aberdeen, asking that it be named
for his friend Alexander Mitchell, president of the Chicago, Milwaukee and
St. Paul Railroad. Mitchell had named the city itself after his
birthplace--Aberdeen, Scotland.
Carnegie gave the money for the building, but a small group of determined residents of the 2 year old town of Aberdeen, South Dakota organized the Aberdeen Free Library Association and incorporated it under territorial law on March 13, 1894. "Books are for nothing but to inspire." ---Ralph Waldo Emerson Although there is no fee charged for borrowing books from the Alexander Mitchell Library or using most of its other services, it isn't really free. To stay up-to-date, the library's collection must be constantly renewed. New books must be purchased, magazines and periodical subscriptions renewed, videotape and other collections expanded, reference materials maintained, special collections preserved and technology upgraded. All of that takes money. "Books
are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is
silent, The city of Aberdeen provides most of the library's funding--and that money is limited. Without financial support from individuals, the Alexander Mitchell Library cannot hope to maintain--much less expand--the storehouse of knowledge that is currently available. "All
good books are alike in that they are truer ---Ernest Hemingway |