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Aberdeen Public Library has its origins in the library of the Mechanics? Institution in Market Street. In 1884 the directors of the Institution decided to hand over both the building and its contents to the city as a public library with free access to all. The library and its services were extremely popular, and very soon the Market Street premises were deemed to be inadequate and a new building was required. Designed by George Watt in 1891, it was situated beside St. Mark?s Church on Rosemount Viaduct in Aberdeen. It cost £10,000, paid for by the Town Council, by Andrew Carnegie, the philanthropist, and by public subscription. As the public library network grew in Aberdeen, the Central Library became the lynchpin for storage, lending and research in the system. Still on the same site today, it houses its original reading room, lending library and reference library, and includes a substantial Local Studies collection.
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