FREE Summer Lecture Series featuring
The Role of Women's Clubs in Establishing Idaho's Carnegie Public Libraries (with a Lewiston focus)
by Susan Swetnam
from the Idaho Humanities Council

Around the turn of the century, ten Idaho towns successfully applied for public library building grants from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. What is interesting is that the citizens of those Idaho towns, many of which were relatively poor at the time of application, voted to tax themselves 10% of Carnegie's award annually for library support (as Carnegie stipulated). This slide presentation explores the internal politics of Idaho's Carnegie library grants, with emphasis on the role of women's groups and on other issues such as the local dynamics. Though the primary focus is statewide, special emphasis will be made on details of the Lewiston library application.

Susan Swetnam is Professor of English at Idaho State University. She has lived in Idaho since 1979. She received her PhD. From the University of Michigan. She was named ISU's Distinguished Teacher (1988), one of its Outstanding Researchers (1992) and its Distinguished Public Servant (1996). She researches and writes about narratives ranging from Idaho pioneer life stories to novels, and about Intermountain West history and culture. Her book Lives of the Saints in Southeast Idaho: An Introduction to Mormon Pioneer Life Story Writing appeared in 1991. She is also a freelance essayist who has published in numerous magazines, including Gourmet and Redneck Review of Literature.

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