A friend of mine on Facebook posted some links to articles as to how Amazom could one day replace libraries. I did not think that would ever happen to public libraries, but as truth is a lot of libraries are struggling today. Like many other brick and motar stores going out of business because of the internet like recently Toys R Us, some Sears stores and believe it or not, whole indoor malls are starting to disappear. It is mainly due to how we shop now on the internet.

Andrew Carnegie believed tremondously in libraries because He knew of the true value they have to the people. He donated a lot of money in having them built all over America. It was from libraries and books where He gained his knowledge and wisdom that mainly made him who He became.

At a very young age, He was fortunate to work for Thomas A. Scott, a railroad industrialist. Thomas took Carnegie under his wing and was Carnegie's mentor. Thomas saw a lot of potential in Carnegie as time went on. Railroads were the main means back then as to how people traveled and how goods were transported. One of the biggest obstacles to railroads back then was rivers. One day Thomas took Carnegie to a river to show him something. Thomas said to Carnegie it would help them tremondously with the railroad if we built a bridge right here. Carnegie looked out onto the river and noticed the river is the Mississippi River. Thomas asked Carnegie if He can do it, and although He wasn't sure, he replied "Yes sir."

This was unheard of back then. Never was done and no one had any idea how. They've built bridges back then mostly out of wood but none to span the Mississippi River. It seemed like an impossible task but Carnegie believed it was possible. He went to work with a bridge building company and even they told him it was impossible but He still believed it was possible. Carnegie had access to libraries/books to help him. He embodied the idea as if it was already an established fact and then one day while leaving the bridge building office, He heard a loud metal tapping sound in the near by street market. He followed the sound and it was a man forging steel into utensils like forks and knives, etc. It was right there where Carnegie got the idea how to build the bridge to withstand the Mississippi River: Steel.

Back then steel was used for small stuff. So Carnegie had to figure out a way to produce steel big enough to build a bridge. So He did and they finally had the means to build a bridge over the mighty Mississippi. After awhile the bridge was completed but Carnegie had another problem, how to convince the people the bridge was safe to cross? People were wary about it. So Carnegie had to figure out a way to convince people it was safe and it was to books He turned to and got his answer. In the video below, you will see how He did it in the reanactment from "The Men Who Built America" from the help of a four legged friend. The rest is history and Carnegie became one of the wealthiest people in the world. The bridge still stands today: Eads Bridge.

"No man can become rich without himself enriching others." - Andrew Carnegie

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