The original library at Livingstone College used rooms added to Huntington Hall in 1883 especially for a library. Three thousand volumes were listed in the catalog in 1884-85. In 1890, Reverend A.J.F. Behrends donated $1,000.00 for a collection of new books for the library to be called “The Central Library”.

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The Andrew Carnegie Library at Livingstone College was dedicated in 1908. Andrew Carnegie, a benefactor of libraries throughout the country, donated funds in 1905 for the construction of the first library building at Livingstone College. The appeal for the $12,500.00 donation was made by Dr. Booker T. Washington, Dr. W.H. Goler (Livingstone College President), and Bishop George W. Clinton of the A.M.E. Zion Church. Bricks for the erection of the building were made on the campus. The library was completed in 1908 and named the Andrew Carnegie Library. Sizable additions have been made to the library that now houses more than 65,000 volumes.

Mr. Carnegie was born in 1837 in Dunfemline, Scotland. He was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Mr. Carnegie died in 1919 at the age of 84. He is buried in a cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.