The Enoch Pratt Free Library, is the oldest U.S. free circulating library. It opens in Baltimore as a “library for all, rich and poor, without distinction of race or color.”
The library inspires Andrew Carnegie to create the nationwide Carnegie Library system. Carla Hayden, a recent Pratt Library Director, is now the Librarian of Congress.
Currently the Enoch Pratt Library has 22 branches in Baltimore City and an annual budget of $43 million.