Exciting things happening at the Carnegie!

Exciting things happening at the Carnegie!

by | Jun 25, 2026 | Uncategorized

Life at the Carnegie is dynamic and exciting. We have so much happening! Probably the most exciting is that we are starting to open up for rentals. We currently have four spaces available to rent.

Interested in hosting an event? Please go to our website and take a look at the photos we have displaying the upper grand room. We have it set up with some tables in order to provide a layout sample.

Do you need a reasonably priced facility for a small workshop, work group, art class, gathering or poetry reading? What about hosting a small wedding? Hosting a birthday party? The opportunities are endless and it’s a lovely facility.

The incredible and indispensable Nick Willick, along with his dedicated team of friends and Rotary Club volunteers, continues to make amazing progress on our downstairs space. He’s currently transforming the “quiet room” into something truly special for us. We are beyond grateful for his hard work and generosity—what a remarkable man!

The back gate has been installed and looks gorgeous. The backyard garden is another area that is available to rent.

We will be launching our campaign for the Big Day of Giving in May! Our goal is to raise the funds necessary to install HVAC (mini-splits) in each of the rooms and upstairs for visitors’ comfort.

Another exciting project in the works is the installation of a lift! We’ve found a company that specializes in this, and our next step is gathering bids for the enclosure shaft. This also presents a fantastic opportunity to incorporate some creative and artistic décor on the exterior—adding both function and beauty to our space!

We have been so fortunate to have so many helpers! We are hosting a volunteer event on April 3rd – come on out if you would like to get involved! We would LOVE to have you! Our plan is to show you around and sign up for things that you enjoy doing that are needed for our Carnegie. Our event will be held from 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. We will be recognizing our current volunteers and hoping to meet new volunteers. There will be a brief tour of the building and a staffed table with information on how you can sign up to be a volunteer.

Exciting things happening at the Carnegie!

Almost there but not quite yet

by | Jun 25, 2026 | Uncategorized

Goodness gracious! It’s already November and we have had rain!

The start of November with rain is a joy, but it is also tinged with a bit of disappointment. At the Carnegie Library we keep creeping closer to completion of the downstairs bathroom, we can see it within reach, but just can’t quite get there – not quite yet. We hoped to be finished with construction in early October, but we knew that might be optimistic. With a 110+ year-old building, there are bound to be surprises and challenges, and we have had our share. Our contractor continues to work diligently and the work that’s been done is fabulous. We now hope that before Thanksgiving arrives, we will be able to give thanks for the completion!

The unfinished status of the downstairs restroom did not prevent us from holding an invitation-only fundraising concert featuring Konstantin, an internationally renowned Russian pianist in October. He attended a fundraising reception for Branches at the Carnegie. What an amazing artist and person!

As a complex event, the concert gave us the opportunity to test our parking plan, event organization, reservation and ticket taking options, caterer coordination, seating set up and some other behind-the-scenes efforts needed for any event. Each test allows us to see where we can improve so when we finally open, the process for anyone wanting to rent space at the Carnegie is as smooth as possible.

Did we mention Thanksgiving is coming? It is almost here, and as celebration plans with family and friends commence, we would like to ask that you remember “Giving Tuesday”, which falls just after the holiday, on Tuesday, December 3.

Giving Tuesday is a significant fundraising day for many non-profit organizations in our community. If you have the chance, please let the non-profits that you love and believe in know that you care. Every dollar donated helps organizations like ours meet our goals to serve the community.

Walk Amongst The Stars

Walk Amongst The Stars

by | Jun 25, 2026 | Uncategorized

Welcome to October! This month at the Carnegie Library we are seeing stars both figuratively and literally.

We closed September with a presentation to the Auburn City Council updating them on the completed projects, upcoming tasks, fundraising and our parking plan. With a little planning and a partnership with the Auburn Journal, visitors to the Carnegie have access to 127 parking spots along E Placer Street. This provides parking on a gentler slope than Almond Street and reduces inconvenience to our neighbors. We also acknowledged and thanked the numerous individuals, businesses, and organizations who have helped the AFTA team get to this point with the Carnegie Library.

If you would like to see the presentation, please visit the Auburn City Council meeting recording and select indexed item 8.

 

 

Construction on the downstairs restroom continues and is nearing completion. We had hoped to see completion by October 4, but construction operates on its own timeline. In the meantime, the foyer has been completed!

We have lights, completed flooring on the stairs, and tile at the entry. Many thanks to electrician Rick Solomon and Gold Country Rotary for their efforts.

The most amazing transformation, however, involves the carpet. While the AFTA team has organized some fundraisers to pay for new carpet, we still had to contend with a functional though tired, lightly stained carpet until such time as we are able to replace it. We had a number of ideas but thanks to an inspirational thought of Bob Synder, we decided to paint it.

 

 

Paint carpet? Yes, it sounds crazy, but in the hands of local artist Hannah Nickolson of Nicholson van Altena Glass, the result is an incredible ethereal experience that lets visitors walk amongst the stars. It’s absolutely stunning and almost looks 3-D in photos.

We mentioned fundraising for carpet. The fundraiser featured a star of a different type – Konstantin, an internationally renowned Russian pianist who came to Auburn to accompany the Auburn Symphony in a performance. He generously offered to play for an invitation only audience on October 4, in support of fundraising for our new carpet. Although, he did say that he loved the painted carpet as it was so we may have to give that some thought!

 

 

 

Lastly, we want to give a shout out to Boy Scout Troop 13 from Newcastle who provided amazing support in transporting chairs and tables for the Konstantin event. They are an incredible group of young people. Thank you so much!

A Cause for Celebration

A Cause for Celebration

by | Jun 25, 2026 | Uncategorized

Summer has flown by, and we are heading into Fall. As the seasonal change approaches, we have some exciting news about changes at the Carnegie Library!

The Rotary Club of Auburn completed the main floor interior repair and painting. In addition, the Gold Country Rotary has stepped in to paint and restore the foyer! There will be new flooring on the steps and tile in the entry. That’s just the first reason to celebrate.

Our vision for the Carnegie Library focuses upon supporting culture, stimulating the arts, and creating community. The Carnegie Library enjoys tremendous support from the community, and the AlmostFreeToAll (AFTA) team is always watching for partnership opportunities.

We are happy to announce our second cause for celebration. AFTA and the Auburn Journal entered into an agreement for use of the 29 spaces in the Auburn Journal parking lot off East Placer Street. This partnership helps address one of the biggest concerns about the location of the Carnegie Library – where visitors will park.

As fabulous as that is, we have even bigger news! Our third big announcement is that construction starts this month on the first-floor accessible restroom. This exciting project means we are on the cusp of being able to open the Carnegie to limited public usage.

The AFTA team will continue to work on raising funds to get us fully up and running, and for other capital projects like a lift, new windows and the accessible ramp into the building.

Exciting things happening at the Carnegie!

Big Day of Giving

by | Jun 25, 2026 | Uncategorized

April showers are certainly here so we anticipate a lot of May flowers. Things are blossoming at the Carnegie as well!

We have been accepted into the Big Day of Giving which takes place on May 2, 2024. Early donations can start on April 18, 2024. We are very excited about this opportunity. This is a huge event that encompasses many, many organizations – many of them are local. We hope that you will see this as a worthwhile investment and share the wealth between many of the worthy organizations, ours included. We will have links to the Big Day of Giving on our Facebook, Instagram, and of course, our website.

We can’t thank our Auburn Rotary Club enough for having chosen us as the recipients to their “Put a Rotarian to Work Day” – when they say they’re going to work, they’re not kidding. They’ve already done a lot of prep work for painting, they’re taking down a wall, helping with the landscaping, and all that goes with that. Big shoutout to Warehouse Paints for donating the paint, too. We will have before and after pictures posted on our website so that you can see the transformation. We are so incredibly grateful for this awe-inspiring opportunity. We are so incredibly grateful for this awe-inspiring opportunity. We also have Oasis Landscaping, Yamasaki Landscape Architecture, Green Acres, Apple Creek, and Robinson Sand and Gravel helping with the backyard.

The list of people and businesses to thank grows continually. This is quite the community effort and our hope is that each and everyone of our community will benefit from the revitalizing of the Carnegie.

We have a beautiful new logo, too – check it out! Thank you, Gini, at IQ Design in Rocklin.

We still have a bit to go before we can open our doors. The walkway for ADA compliance is still in process. When that is finished, our beautiful building will be available for renting out space(s) at a very reasonable price.

Please subscribe to our mailing list so you can stay up-to-date on all of the happenings at the Carnegie.