Andrew Carnegie founded the Carnegie Institute in 1896, which included a music hall, art museum, and science museum. Today his cultural institution has expanded to include a library, music hall, natural history museum, art museum, science center, the Andy Warhol Museum, and the Carnegie International art exhibition.

In his history of the Carnegie Museums and Library of Pittsburgh, Bob Gangewere details the political turmoil, budgetary constraints, and cultural tides that have influenced the caretakers and the collections. He profiles the benefactors, trustees, directors, and administrators who have stewarded the collections through the years and provided individual histories of the library, music hall, museums, and science center. Gangewere is a former editor of Carnegie Magazine and adjunct professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University.