Abstract:
Huntsville had a library in 1819, even before Alabama became a state. Andrew Carnegie’s gift provided the first library building in 1916. World War II brought the Federal government to Huntsville in 1940. The German rocket scientists and the expanded federal government presence in 1950 was an economic and social turning point for Huntsville and Madison County. Huntsville was about to separate itself economically and culturally from the rest of Alabama. Outreach services within the city and county continued to expand and improve, to include information technology.