The Carnegie Library

The Carnegie Library has been in use for many years and is a part of many a Minnieboler's youth especially the men young and old. It was in need of repair after closing in 1993. Fortunately South Ayrshire Council pledged £560,530 to refurbish it. It has now been reopened. For more about Carnegie Libraries of Scotland see Gerry Blaikie's site. The text below, written about 1972 is taken from the book Maybole Carrick's Capital by James T. Gray. (contributed by David Kiltie)

(1905 building proposal)

"The next outstanding building erected in the town after the Town Hall was built was the Carnegie Public Library at the foot of the High Street. The foundation stone (engraved with the Town Coat of Arms) was laid in 1905, when the whole population turned out to see it well and truly laid by the local Free Masons, with the town band leading the Magistrates and Councillors in procession to the site. It was built mainly from funds donated by the Trust formed by Andrew Carnegie, the great Scottish philanthropist, to provide such buildings in Scottish towns and is a handsome stone building which blends admirably with the old Castle across the street from it. The doorway is extremely fine and has a handsomely carved coat of arms over it. A native of Maybole, Robert McQuater who died in Dublin in 1902, bequeathed £1,000 to the Magistrates and Council and this sum was expended in forming the recreation rooms in the building. It contains a billiard room, games room, reading room and lending library, and is a great asset to the town. Most Maybole youths have learned to play billiards there (often unknown to their mothers who somehow or other never looked too kindly on the game as suitable for their sons), the older men of the town enjoy their dominoes and draughts in the games room and the lending library supplies all types of books for the more studious and sober citizens."