Welcome to Hometown Heritage at the Carnegie Library Museum!
“Its primary purpose is to tell the story of small Midwestern towns and the importance of libraries to the people who settled them.” Roberta Green Ahmanson
In 1994, the Fullhart Carnegie Trust, named for librarian Louise Fullhart and Andrew Carnegie, purchased the Carnegie Library building at public auction for $10,000 and pledged to
restore the building as a place to explore and seek to understand the significance of small Midwestern towns like Perry. In 2004, the completed Carnegie Library Museum opened to tell the story of the impact libraries and literacy through time with a focus on their influence in Midwestern communities. The Library Museum provides a museum experience designed to study and celebrate the contribution of small Midwestern towns through the stories of the immigrants who were and are their citizens. The Carnegie Library Museum’s unique collection of books, videos, changing exhibits, and educational programs are designed to provide a deeper look at individual authors and subjects and to provide a living invitation to explore, to question, and to understand. Roberta Green Ahmanson along with her husband Howard, Founding Trustee, Fullhart Carnegie Trust
The City of Perry now continues the legacy provided by the Ahmansons.