By 1888, a fifth branch was opened, soon followed in 1896 with the opened of Branch six, a few months after the death of Enoch Pratt. The Woodberry branch was opened around 1901, Branch #7, a gift from Mr. Robert Poole, which had been a library he and others had established in 1886. Around 1900, a gift from Andrew Carnegie of $500.000 went into the building of more branches. The plans at the time were to built a library within walking distance of everyone in the City.
In 1908, Francis A. White made a gift of the Walbrook Branch ( #8 ) . Between 1908 and 1921, 15 more branches opened around the City , courtesy of Andrew Carnegie. The old Central expanded into three old homes on Cathedral Street at this time. By the time Branch 23 was almost done, funds from Carnegie ran out. The City had to come up with the money to complete the job. The open shelf system was also put into effect in the 1920's.
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