Franklin Library (Minneapolis)

Franklin Library is a public library on Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The library was one of thirteen branch libraries established under the leadership of Gratia Countryman, the chief librarian of the Minneapolis Public Library from 1904 to 1936. The library housed the largest collection of Scandinavian books, newspapers, and magazines within the system, which reflected the population living in the area. The library was funded by the Carnegie Corporation and designed by Edward Lippincott Tilton, a New York City architect.South Side Branch, 1890-1914On April 23, 1890, the 2nd branch of the Minneapolis Public Library, the South Side branch opened. It was located in two rooms at a store at 17th Ave. and Franklin Ave. South Minneapolis was the core of the Scandinavian community and by 1904 all of the Scandinavian language materials were shelved at the South Side branch. The South Side branch was succeeded by the first Carnegie branch to open in Minneapolis, Franklin Library, in August 1914.Franklin Library, 1914-presentAndrew Carnegie donated money for library buildings as long as the community furnished the land to build the library upon. The McKnight family donated the land valued at $13,000 and Carnegie donated the building (valued at $41,000). The land was donated by Harriet McKnight Crosby, Caroline McKnight Christian and Sumner T. McKnight. The two story brick building soon became one of the busiest branches in the 1920s. The Scandinavian books and magazines drew users from throughout the library. As it is central with the Somali community today, Franklin Library has always been an immigrant library.