FOREWORD   November 25, 1985, marks the sesquicentennial of Andrew Carnegie's birth. It is right that Kansas help commemorate the occasion for Carnegie's largess extended to the erection of fifty-nine public library buildings. It is for no small reason that Carnegie has often been called "the patron saint of libraries"!   This book set out to provide a general picture of the scope of Carnegie's philanthropy while concentrating specifically on what that heritage is in Kansas. What we have succeeded in doing is presenting the stories of the fifty-nine library buildings that Carnegie erected, as well as the stories of the libraries themselves, as institutions, for who can separate the story of a building from the story of the institution connected with it?   Of primary importance in understanding Carnegie's philanthropy was finding George S. Bobinski's Carnegie Libraries, still considered the definitive work in examining the panoramic view of the Carnegie building program. J. F. Wall's Andrew Carnegie was also an important source in learning more about the steel magnate as a person as well as a philanthropist.   Many persons were called upon for assistance in helping make this work possible. First of all are the librarians in the cities which have (or have had) Carnegie libraries. These librarians were mailed draft copies of their individual library histories in July, and there was such an immediate response of phone calls, letters, parcels, photographs and messages of congratulatory cheer that we simply felt swept along on a flood-tide as the work progressed. The librarians (and their staffs, always integral to the research mise-en-scene) are too numerous to mention here, but their assistance has been immense and the book could never have been done without their help! Unsung heroes come to mind, too: long-departed librarians who had the foresight to record library history for later researchers. The staff members of the Kansas State Historical Society also come to mind, for they have once again suffered with us through the makings of another book, bringing out books and periodicals and microfilm, and searching through architectural files and photographs, to help make this book a success. Martha Hagedorn, of the Historical Society's Historic Preservation Department, has been especially helpful in providing descriptions of some of the buildings.   Others (no less holy) must also be acknowledged. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh provided the photograph of Andrew Carnegie. Joan Workman, of the State Library staff, my longtime "accomplice in crime," has helped immensely by taking photographs, proofreading the manuscript, helping with the architectural descriptions, and giving her usual good advice. Ernestine Voss, also of the State Library staff, and Duane F. Johnson, the State Librarian, examined portions of the manuscript and made suggestions. To these people, as well as to Betty Kasey, for a special favor which she has probably forgotten about, I express my gratitude.