Carnegie Library of Reims

The Carnegie Library of Reims is a public library built with money donated by businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to the city of Reims after World War I. Reims was one of three "front-line" cities to be given a Carnegie library, the other two being Leuven and Belgrade (Belgrade University Library). Built in the 1920s, it combined the mission of heritage conservation and of reading public library. Until 2003, the Carnegie Library was the main library of Reims. The Art Deco decor of the Carnegie Library, the harmony of its proportions, the elegance of its architecture made it worthy of inclusion in the French inventory of Monuments historiques.