Once the richest man on the planet, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie donated millions of dollars to build libraries, museums, and other public buildings across the United States. He attempted to do the same for a public library in a small city 55 miles south of Pittsburgh, but Wheeling, West Virginia, turned him down. In this presentation, we will explore why this offer was controversial in Wheeling, one of many places to decline a library donation.
Seán Patrick Duffy is the adult programming director at the Ohio County Public Library and the executive director of the Wheeling Academy of Law and Science (WALS) Foundation at the First State Capitol, both in Wheeling, West Virginia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and an MBA from Wheeling Jesuit University and a JD from the Washington College of Law at the American University. He is the author or editor of four books and numerous articles on local history. One of the founders of ArchivingWheeling.org, Duffy is editor of the Upper Ohio Valley Historical Review.
This program will take place in the South Wing Reading Room on the 2nd Floor.
