The Hoyt Library had its official opening on January 2nd, 1928 to begin a tradition of service to all of the Wyoming Valley and its people.
A prominent citizen and businessman, Frank Weston Hoyt, bequeathed the family homestead to the Municipality of Kingston for the express purpose of establishing a Library on the West Side of the Susquehanna River. People on the west side of the river certainly were interested in a new library which would be more accessible to them; but, Kingston officials were totally unprepared for the enthusiasm demonstrated on that cold morning in January. When the doors of the Library were opened for the first time, hundreds of people were waiting in a line that extended from the entrance to encircle the entire city block.
The Hoyt has continued to flourish and expand to meet the needs of its patrons. In 1963, through the concentrated effort of many local benefactors, funds were raised for the refurbishing of a major portion of the library with emphasis on both enhancing the historical building and adding to the library's collection. It was at this time that a prominent attorney, William P. Brewster, donated The Brewster Collection to the Hoyt, significantly increasing the reference materials at the library.
In 1987, a capital campaign was successfully completed enabling the library to add a Children's Wing. This beautiful new addition allowed the Hoyt Library to be all inclusive in its service to all age groups.
Currently, in addition to the books, periodicals, audio/video tapes and extensive reference materials, the Hoyt has developed a local area network (LAN) of several computers, which allows Internet access for reference and research. In addition, it has online catalog capacity that facilitates finding and borrowing books from any library in Pennsylvania.
The collection now includes over 90,000 volumes and is central to the education, recreation, and life enrichment of its patrons throughout the region.