At the end of the nineteenth century libraries in the southeastern states were few in number, widely scattered in location, and poor in resources. In the 1890's members of women's clubs and leaders from various professions became interested in the establishment of libraries in the region. Their interest was fostered by the Congress of Women Librarians and the attendant library exhibit which were a part of the Cotton States and International Exposition held in Atlanta in 1895. Interest in libraries was also stimulated by grants awarded by Andrew Carnegie to cities for the construction of library buildings; his awards helped establish many of the first free public libraries in the Southeast. Between 1895 and 1905 a number of library "firsts" for the region were established: the first free public library, the first state library association, the first state library com- •ission, and the first library training program. These events marked the beginnings of the movement or public library service in the Southeast. Various factors such as the economic, racial, social, and educational characteristics of the region had delayed the development of libraries, and they continued to retard the growth of library facilities. Leadership for the library novement cane from the women's clubs originally, then from the state library associations, state library extension agencies, the Southeastern Library Association, and, to some extent, from the library training institutions. The growth of public library service in the Southeast was stimulated by federal aid supplied by the Work Projects Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Withdrawal of federal funds led to the provision of state aid for public library development in several of the southeastern states. Aid from philanthropic foundations also supported the growth of public libraries in the region. A comparison of the public library facilities developed by 1950 in the Southeast with those in the rest of the nation reveals certain significant differences. Distribution of existing public libraries by decade of their establishment shows that most of the libraries in the Southeast were organized more recently than those elsewhere. The Southeast has adopted county and regional library organization to a greater degree than has the rest of the nation. Since 1895 the region has wade public library service available to a large percentage of its population, but it does not serve as many of its people proportionately, as does the rest of the nation. Furthermore, due to failure to take into consideration the Negro population without library service in areas where the white population has service, the Southeast actually serves a smaller percentage of its population than official figures Indicate. Although library income and collections, measured in per capita income and volumes per capita, have grown, the rate of growth in the Southeast has not been as great as it has for the rest of the nation. The use of libraries, however, measured by per capita circulation, has increased in the region and decreased for the rest of the nation. The greatest growth of library facilities occurred after 1935. A positive relationship exists between improvement in economic and social conditions in the region and library progress. Within the library field, expansion of library service appears to be closely related to the provision of outside financial aid and the presence of strong state library extension agencies. The movement for public library service developed later in the Southeast than it did elsewhere; it followed a somewhat different course of development, and it produced a pattern of library service varying in significant respects from that in the rest of the nation.
