David Elder Edward F.L.A.

David Elder Edward was the Librarian at the Carnegie Library, Ayr between 1912 and 1942. He was a native of Dundee, where he started his career in 1896. During his time at the Carnegie, membership and book issues increased threefold, including a much expanded junior service. The Library building was also extended greatly, including a lecture hall (now the reference library, but still used for lectures today), a junior reading room and a museum and gallery (now the Local History Library).   Edward also had a keen interest in art and he extended services to accommodate exhibitions within the Library. He was also instrumental in bringing to Ayr a succession of prominent lecturers to audiences ofter exceeding 500. Upon his death in 1963, he bequeathed the residue of his estate to pass to the then Ayr Burgh Council upon the death of his wife, who survived him. This was to be applied for the purposes of an Art Gallery in Ayr. His estate also included a number of paintings, which remain in the collections today. The Fund is still used today to benefit the museum collections, now for South Ayrshire Council.