Red Oak Public Library
public library in Iowa, United States of America
The Red Oak Public Library is located in Red Oak, Iowa, United States. Andrew Carnegie accepted the city's application for a grant for $12,500 on November 27, 1906. The Chicago architectural firm of Patton & Miller designed the Tudor Revival structure. It was dedicated on October 8, 1909.
The two-story building features a side-gable plan, and rustic brick-and-half-timbered style. It is somewhat unusual in that its main entrance was at grade. The corners are buttresses that rise from the base in a concave curve and disappear into the walls before they emerge above the eaves as parapets. A two-story addition was built onto the rear of the building in 1924 to house a new book stack, and another two-story addition was built on the south side to house reading rooms. A dedication on 2 October 2010 expanded the library to the north. All additions complement the structure's original design.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Red Oak Public Library” as public library in Iowa, United States of America. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as public library in Iowa, United States of America. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q24061864. Authority coordinates are 41.008, -95.230. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1906, 1909, 1924 and 2010.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Red Oak Public Library”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Red Oak Public Library primary sources, Red Oak Public Library archive and Public research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Red Oak Public Library”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Red Oak Public Library” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.