View source for Enoch Pratt Free Library

{{Short description|Public library system in Baltimore, Maryland, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox library
| library_name = Enoch Pratt Free Library
| location = 400 Cathedral Street, (between West Franklin and Mulberry Streets)<br>[[Baltimore, Maryland]]
| type = Free, (Municipal/State) [[Public Library]]
| established = 1882/1886<ref name="epflhistory">{{cite web|url=http://www.prattlibrary.org/history/|title=History of the Library - Enoch Pratt Free Library|website=www.prattlibrary.org|access-date=26 January 2018}}</ref>
| num_branches = 22<ref name="epflbranchmap">{{cite web|url=http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/map.aspx|title=Library Locations - Enoch Pratt Free Library|website=www.prattlibrary.org|access-date=26 January 2018}}</ref>
| director = Chad Helton, President and CEO
| website = {{Official URL}}
| logo = Enoch Pratt Free Library logo.svg
}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Central Library
| image = Enoch pratt library.jpg
| caption = Enoch Pratt Free Library, Central Library building (second structure - built 1931-1933), Cathedral Street main entrance.
| start_date = 1931
| stop_date = 1933
}}
The '''Enoch Pratt Free Library''' is the free [[public library]] system of [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]]. Its Central Library is located on 400 [[Cathedral Street (Baltimore)|Cathedral Street]] (southbound) and occupies the northeastern three quarters of a [[city block]] bounded by [[U.S. Route 40 in Maryland|West Franklin Street]] (U.S. Route 40 westbound) to the north, Cathedral Street to the east, [[U.S. Route 40 in Maryland|West Mulberry Street]] (U.S. Route 40 eastbound) to the south, and Park Avenue (northbound) to the west. Located on historic Cathedral Hill, north of downtown, the library is also in the [[Mount Vernon, Baltimore|Mount Vernon-Belvedere-Mount Royal]] neighborhood and cultural and historic district.

The Cathedral Street Main Library is the flagship of the entire Enoch Pratt Free Library system, which includes twenty-one neighborhood branches, it was designated the "Maryland State Library Resource Center" by the [[Maryland General Assembly|General Assembly of Maryland]] in 1971.<ref name="epflhistory"/><ref name="epflbranchmap"/> Central Library operates as the state library for Maryland.

== History ==
Library establishment began on January 21, 1882, when the longtime local hardware merchant, banking, and steamship company executive and [[philanthropy|philanthropist]] [[Enoch Pratt]] (1808-1896) offered a gift of a central library, four branch libraries (with two additional shortly afterward), and a [[financial endowment]] of more than $1 million to [[List of mayors of Baltimore, Maryland|Mayor]] [[William Pinkney Whyte]] and the [[Baltimore City Council]]. His intention was to establish a public circulating library that (as he described it) "shall be for all, rich and poor without distinction of race or color, who, when properly accredited, can take out the books if they will handle them carefully and return them." The grant was soon accepted by the municipal government and approved by the voters on October 25, 1882.<ref name="epflhistory"/>

One of the early hires at the library was [[William Augustine Williams|William A. Williams]], the first [[Black Catholicism|Black Catholic]] seminarian in America (who later dropped out due to the prevailing racist attitudes of the day).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Slezak|first=Eva|date=November 2, 2019|title=Obituaries for Laurel: From Janitor to Lawyer, David D. Dickson (1854-1908)|url=http://www.rememberingbaltimore.net/2019/11/obituaries-for-laurel-david-d-dickson.html|url-status=live|access-date=April 28, 2021|website=Remembering Baltimore|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330060157/http://www.rememberingbaltimore.net/2019/11/obituaries-for-laurel-david-d-dickson.html|archive-date=March 30, 2022}}</ref>

From 1993 to August 11, 2016, [[Carla Hayden]] (formerly of the [[Chicago Public Library]]) served as the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore and since has been the [[Librarian of Congress]] in [[Washington, DC]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bal-enoch-pratt-library-names-acting-ceo-20160811-story.html|title=Enoch Pratt library names Gordon Krabbe acting CEO|website=[[Baltimore Sun]]|date=August 11, 2016|access-date=September 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806042534/https://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bal-enoch-pratt-library-names-acting-ceo-20160811-story.html|archive-date=August 6, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> Hayden and the staff of the Pennsylvania Avenue branch were praised for keeping the branch open on Monday April 27, 2015, after protests and the civil strife over the [[death of Freddie Gray]]. The library's location, at the intersection of Pennsylvania and West North Avenues in the northwest center city [[Sandtown-Winchester, Baltimore|Sandtown-Winchester]] community, found itself at the center of the protests drawing nationwide and international attention, giving community members a safe place during the troubled times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/05/public-services/baltimores-enoch-pratt-free-library-provides-haven-in-troubled-times/#_|title=Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library Provides Haven in Troubled Times|website=[[Library Journal]]|access-date=January 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710144117/https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/baltimores-enoch-pratt-free-library-provides-haven-in-troubled-times|archive-date=July 10, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/amidst-protests-baltimore-libraries-stay-open-provide-community-support/|title=Baltimore libraries stay open to provide community support|website=[[PBS NewsHour]]|date=April 28, 2015|access-date=January 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508203138/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/amidst-protests-baltimore-libraries-stay-open-provide-community-support|archive-date=May 8, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following Hayden's departure and promotion on August 11, 2016, the acting director of the library has been Gordon Krabbe, who served as the library's chief operating officer since 1989.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bal-enoch-pratt-library-names-acting-ceo-20160811-story.html|title=Enoch Pratt library names Gordon Krabbe acting CEO|website=[[Baltimore Sun]]|date=11 August 2016 |access-date=January 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806042534/https://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bal-enoch-pratt-library-names-acting-ceo-20160811-story.html|archive-date=August 6, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2017, Heidi Daniel was named the new president and CEO of the public library system.<ref>{{cite web|last=Woolever|first=Lydia|url=https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/community/heidi-daniel-new-ceo-president-enoch-pratt-free-library/|title=Cameo: Heidi Daniel|website=[[Baltimore Magazine]]|date=September 2017|access-date=July 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022205449/https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/community/heidi-daniel-new-ceo-president-enoch-pratt-free-library/|archive-date=October 22, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Under Daniel's leadership, the Pratt became one of the first fine-free public library system's on the East Coast. In 2017, the Enoch Pratt Free Library was named one of Reader's Digest and ''Good Morning America''{{'}}s Nicest Places in America. Daniel also helped expand the library's social impact programs, including Social Worker in the Library, Healthcare in the Library, Peer Navigators, and Housing Navigators. Daniel sits on the Board of the Urban Libraries Council.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} In September 2024, Chad Helton was named as the library system's new president and CEO.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fenton |first1=Justin |title=Pratt Library’s unconventional new CEO is out to change lives |url=https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/criminal-justice/pratt-library-new-ceo-chad-helton-6EG4RA6QONBY5NH2K2J5HEXADY/ |access-date=September 30, 2024 |work=The Baltimore Banner |date=September 30, 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

In June 2022, workers across the Pratt Library system voted to form a union named Pratt Workers United with AFSCME Council 67, representing over 300 workers across the system, calling for improved wages, benefits, career advancement, and increased staff input on their work environment.<ref>{{cite press release |last=Cancio |first=Kat |date=June 1, 2022 |title=Workers at the Enoch Pratt Free Library seek union recognition |url=https://afscmeatwork.org/system/files/6.1.22_pwu_announcement_press_release.pdf |publisher=[[AFSCME]] |access-date=July 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710141309/https://afscmeatwork.org/system/files/6.1.22_pwu_announcement_press_release.pdf |archive-date=July 10, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bmoreart2022">{{cite web|last=Kirkman|first=Rebekah|url=https://bmoreart.com/2022/06/pratt-library-workers-intend-to-form-a-union.html|title=Pratt Library Workers Intend to Form a Union|website=bmoreart|date=June 2, 2022|access-date=July 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619031149/https://bmoreart.com/2022/06/pratt-library-workers-intend-to-form-a-union.html|archive-date=June 19, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="afro2022" /> The council would also represent workers at [[Baltimore Museum of Art]] and [[Walters Art Museum]] if union campaigns at those institutions are successful.<ref name="bmoreart2022" /> Workers within the library system have been organizing for a union since May 2021.<ref name="bmoreart2022" /><ref name="afro2022">{{cite web|url=https://afro.com/enoch-pratt-free-library-workers-call-for-recognition-of-employee-union/|title=Enoch Pratt Free Library workers call for recognition of employee union|website=[[Baltimore Afro-American|Afro]]|date=June 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622001758/https://afro.com/enoch-pratt-free-library-workers-call-for-recognition-of-employee-union/|archive-date=June 22, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Central Library building ==

===Original (1886&ndash;2015)===
[[File:Old Landmark Baptist Church-Former Branch No. 5 – Enoch Pratt Free Library, 818 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205 (33645642565).jpg|thumb|left|Former branch number 5, now a church.]]
The merchant and financier [[Enoch Pratt]], in a letter to the [[Baltimore City Council]] on January 21, 1882, offered to donate and construct a free public library with several neighborhood branches open to all the citizens of the City of [[Baltimore]] (and its surrounding environs). After some debate and discussion which was also widely reported in the local newspapers,<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 23, 1882 |title=Enoch Pratt's Gift |work=The Sun}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=January 25, 1882 |title=Enoch Pratt's Gift |work=The Sun}}</ref> the mayor and council accepted the gift and the terms of its conditions later that year, which were subsequently approved by the citizens in a referendum held during an election that October, 1882.  Pratt’s donation consisted of $250,000 for land and building for the central library; $50,000 for land and building for four branch libraries; and $833,333 in cash for an endowment whose estimated annual return of $50,000, he anticipated, would finance expenses for management of the library system.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Enoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore City: Letters and Documents relating to its foundation and organization. |publisher=Enoch Pratt Free Library |year=1886 |edition=1886 |location=Baltimore |pages=49}}</ref> Construction of the Central Library began 1882; it opened on January 5, 1886 .  The first four branches also opened in 1886. Subsequently, Pratt gave funds for the construction of two more branches; one opened 1888 and the other in 1896. In 1899, [[Robert Poole (industrialist)|Robert Poole]], a Baltimore industrialist, built and gave to the City of Baltimore, a seventh branch located in Hampden.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 2, 1899 |title="Woodberry Library. Mr. Robert Poole Gives The Site and Buildings. Seventh Pratt Branch" |work=The Sun}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Swett |first=Steven C. |author-link=Steven C. Swett |title=The Metalworkers |date=30 June 2022 |publisher=Baltimore Museum of Industry |isbn=978-0-578-28250-3 |pages=341–348}}</ref> In 1905, steel-maker and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie gave $500,000 for the construction of twenty more branches.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of the Enoch Pratt Free Library |url=https://www.prattlibrary.org/about-us/history |access-date=May 1, 2023 |website=Enoch Pratt Free Library}}</ref> Because of closings, relocations, and reallocation of space, the Pratt system now has twenty-two active branches.

Designed by [[Charles L. Carson]], "Old Central" occupied a fraction of the same plot of land as its successor 47 years later, facing West Mulberry Street near the corner of [[Cathedral Street (Baltimore)|Cathedral Street]]. The structure's elaborate [[Romanesque Revival architecture]] became a target of criticism from journalists during  final years of existence: [[H. L. Mencken]] of ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'', a frequent and prolific user of the branch at Calhoun and Hollins Streets, judged it "so infernally hideous that it ought to be pulled down by the common hangman".<ref name="mkzajacstylebal">However, later architectural historians come to a greater appreciation of the [[Victorian architecture|Victorian-era styles of architecture]].[http://www.baltimorestyle.com/index.php/style/baltimore/baltimore_a_cathedral_of_books_so11/ Zajac, Mary K. "A cathedral of books," ''Style Magazine'' (Baltimore), September-October 2011.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221053642/http://www.baltimorestyle.com/index.php/style/baltimore/baltimore_a_cathedral_of_books_so11/ |date=2012-02-21 }}</ref>

===Current===
By the late 1920s, Old Central could no longer hold the library's continually expanding collection, even though an annex had been added at the rear.<ref name="eguntstbs">{{Cite web|url=http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2003-11-02/entertainment/0311030438_1_central-library-enoch-pratt-pratt-free-library|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130117193151/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2003-11-02/entertainment/0311030438_1_central-library-enoch-pratt-pratt-free-library|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2013|title=Gunts, Edward. "A new chapter is opening for the Pratt Library," ''The Baltimore Sun'', Sunday, November 2, 2003.|date=2 November 2003 }}</ref> Baltimore City voters approved a loan for $3 million by an almost 3-to-1 margin on May 3, 1927. The Central Pratt Library's staff, services and 400,000 volumes were relocated to temporary quarters at the old Rouse-Hempstone Building at West Redwood Street and Hopkins Place (now the site of the [[Royal Farms Arena]] for a two-year stay during 1931–1933. At this temporary location, the Central Pratt was able to reorganize and plan for its future arrangements of departments and try out its soon-to-be famous "department store windows" displays<ref name="epflhistory"/>  It was razed in 1931, along with several townhouses facing Cathedral Street, including a significant one formerly owned by [[Robert Goodloe Harper]].

The replacement structure occupies the entire block facing the Old [[Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary|Baltimore Cathedral]].<ref name="mkzajacstylebal"/> Construction began in June 1931, during the darkest, most difficult days of the financial [[Great Depression]] and along with other major construction projects occurring at that time with the building of a new U.S. Courthouse and Post Office at [[Battle Monument]] Square at North Calvert and East Lexington-Fayette Streets, and the new Municipal Office Building on Holliday Street, across from the old [[Baltimore City Hall]] and the new Federal Courthouse/Post Office, offered an important source of desperately needed employment to the hundreds of out-of-work citizens of the city.<ref name="epflhistory"/>

The architects were C. and N. Friz, with consulting architects [[Edward Lippincott Tilton|Tilton & Githens]] from New York.<ref>{{cite web|title=Enoch Pratt Free Library NRHP Nomination Form|url=https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/Baltimore%20City/B-2068.pdf|website=State of Maryland|access-date=30 April 2018}}</ref>  The building was completed in January 1933, and opened to the public on February 3, with a record of not one day of suspended service since the original beginnings of "Enoch Pratt's Folly" on January 5, 1886.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prattlibrary.org/uploadedFiles/www/services/meeting_rooms/CENTRALHALLwithmap.pdf|title=Information about the Central Library and its Central Hall&nbsp;– Enoch Pratt Free Library.|access-date=26 January 2018}}</ref> In Spring of 2016, ground was broken on a $115 million restoration of the historic Central Library. The building remained open to the public. February 11–19, the Central Library closed to the public to relocate departments to the newly renovated upper floors, and to begin renovation of the lower levels.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/pratt-central-library-shut-9-days-first-floor-renovations/|title = Baltimore Fishbowl &#124; Pratt Central Library to Shut Down for 9 Days for First-Floor Renovations -|date = February 2018}}</ref> The restoration was completed in Fall of 2019. A Grand Reopening block party drew a crowd of 9,000 people.

In 2020, the Senator [[Barbara Mikulski|Barbara A. Mikulski]] Room, with mementos and Mikulski's [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]], was opened in the Central Library.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-mikulski-capitol-20220608-clg3oiiixvaknd5glpvse2clxa-story.html|title=Out of 540 U.S. Capitol rooms, two now are named for female senators. One of them is Maryland's Barbara Mikulski.|website=Baltimore Sun|date=8 June 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/central/mikulski-room|title=Senator Barbara A. Mikulski Room|website=Enoch Pratt Free Library}}</ref>

===Maryland Department===

The Maryland Department, located on the second floor of the 2004 Annex, contains many of the library's prized collections.  These include 275,000 mounted documents (mostly newspaper articles), 2100 maps, 6000 pieces of ephemera, and 24,000 photographs, all relevant to [[Maryland]] and [[History of Maryland|Maryland history]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Maryland Department: About the Collection|url=https://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/maryland/index.aspx?id=4860|access-date=3 December 2019|author=Enoch Pratt Free Library}}</ref> The Maryland Department also has a room full of books pertaining to Maryland, with an emphasis on [[Baltimore]].

Most materials in the Maryland Department are non-circulating but available for patrons to examine.

==Statistics==
[[Image:Enoch Pratt Free Library - Baltimore, MD - Sarah Stierch.jpg|thumb|right|Central Hall, Central Library building.]]
In 2024, The Pratt Library hit a 13-year high for circulation and all-time high for active cardholders. The summer reading program, Summer Break Baltimore also hit a record high with more than 23,000 participants across the city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Annual Report |url=https://www.prattlibrary.org/about-us/annual-report |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Enoch Pratt Free Library |language=en}}</ref>

==Branches==
Pratt's branches serve the unique needs of customers in their neighborhoods. 
There are 21 branches across the city of Baltimore, as well as three mobile units.  In 2018, the Pratt expanded service hours by more than 30 percent across the system.
Branches include Brooklyn,
Canton,
Clifton,
Edmondson Avenue,
Forest Park,
Govans,
Hamilton,
Hampden,
Herring Run,
Light Street,
Northwood,
Orleans Street,
Patterson Park,
Pennsylvania Avenue, 
Reisterstown Road,
Roland Park,
Southeast Anchor,
Walbrook,
Washington Village, 
and Waverly.

==See also==
{{Portal|Baltimore|Maryland}}
*[[Edgar Allan Poe]]
*[[George Peabody Library]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110417203145/http://www.mdch.org/ Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage website]
* [http://explore.baltimoreheritage.org/items/show/41 Explore Baltimore Heritage - Enoch Pratt Free Library Central Library]

==Further reading==
* {{Citation |location = Baltimore |author = Enoch Pratt Free Library. |title = The Enoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore city: Letters and documents relating to its foundation and organization, with the dedicatory addresses and exercises January 4, 1886 |date = 1886 |ol = 7041569M }}
* {{Citation |publisher = Sun Book and Job Print . Off. |author = Enoch Pratt Free Library |title = Finding List of the Enoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore City: Central Building |date = 1886 |edition=2nd |oclc = 48481440 |ol = 20615304M }}
* {{Citation |publisher = The Friedenwald company |title = Finding List of Books and Periodicals in the Central Library, part 3 |author = Enoch Pratt Free Library |edition = 5th |date = 1894 |oclc = 48481293 |ol = 20604122M }}
{{Education in Baltimore}}
{{Baltimore}}
{{Maryland public libraries}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Education in Baltimore]]
[[Category:Public libraries in Maryland]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Baltimore]]
[[Category:Mount Vernon, Baltimore]]
[[Category:Libraries established in 1882]]
[[Category:1882 establishments in Maryland]]
[[Category:Edward Lippincott Tilton buildings]]