09/23/2026
Postcards are artifacts of library history. Postcards started circulating in the 1860's and were extremely popular in America through World War I. These postcards varied from pictures of important landmarks, to public buildings, to images taken by local residents. The time that postcards were popular happens to coincide with the time where public libraries were being built across the country. Andrew Carnegie was helping to fund libraries of all sizes and many of these appeared on postcards. Libraries were a popular topic of the time. As travel was not as easy during this era, many travelers would take trips to towns nearby. One of the places often visited in these towns were libraries. Travelers would document these trips with postcards. The following postcards can help us see how the Peru Public Library has changed over the years. Unfortunately we don't know the exact dates of these photos, but it is cool to see how the library has changed over the years!
