Albright Memorial Library
🏢 Lackawanna County Library System · Scranton, Pennsylvania
Albright Memorial Library
One of Northeastern Pennsylvania's most striking civic landmarks, the Albright Memorial Library has anchored downtown Scranton since 1893 inside a National Register French Chateau building — and today pairs its marble-columned reading rooms with a full Creation Station makerspace open to all Lackawanna County cardholders.
🕑 Library Hours
| Monday | 9am–8pm |
| Tuesday | 9am–8pm |
| Wednesday | 9am–8pm |
| Thursday | 9am–8pm |
| Friday | 9am–5pm |
| Saturday | 9am–5pm |
| Sunday | 1pm–5pm |
Hours may vary on holidays; check the library site before visiting.
📍 Location, Contact & Directions
Address: 500 Vine Street, Scranton, PA 18509
Phone: (570) 348-3000
Website: lclshome.org
Plus Code: 87H6C86R+C5 (Scranton, PA)
📱 Scan for directions
Point your phone camera at the code to open turn-by-turn directions in Google Maps.
👋 Use the Library Online
📖 About Albright Memorial Library
The Albright Memorial Library is the flagship branch of the Lackawanna County Library System and the public library of Scranton, Pennsylvania. The building was commissioned by industrialist John J. Albright as a memorial to his parents, Joseph Jacob and Elizabeth Sellers Albright, who had donated their Vine Street estate to the city for library use. Designed by the Buffalo firm Green & Wicks in the French Chateau style — modeled after Paris's Musee de Cluny — the library opened on May 26, 1893, at a total cost of $125,000 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. The interior retains its original quarter-oak woodwork, Mycenaean marble columns, Italian marble fireplaces, and stained-glass windows by Edwin Ford and Frederick Brooks depicting historic book bindings; the grounds were laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted and restored to his original design in 2001. Today the library serves Lackawanna County's 213,000 residents with more than 607,000 volumes, a full-service Creation Station makerspace, Tech Table one-on-one digital help, community meeting rooms, and a growing suite of digital resources.
⭐ What makes this library special
- National Register of Historic Places landmark (listed 1978) — a French Chateau designed by Green & Wicks and opened May 26, 1893, modeled on Paris's Musee de Cluny
- Creation Station makerspace with Glowforge laser cutter, Cricut Maker & Explore, Silhouette Cameo 4, sublimation printer & heat press, Babylock embroidery machine, 3D printing on request, and a Cricut Mug Press
- Tech Table program — free one-on-one appointments to get personalized help with smartphones, tablets, or laptops
- Grounds originally designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted; restored to Olmsted's original plan in 2001
- Flagship branch of the 10-location Lackawanna County Library System — one card borrows across all member libraries, including Carbondale, Abington, Taylor, Dalton, and North Pocono
📱 Digital Resources — Free with Your Library Card
Scranton cardholders can borrow, stream, and research free through these digital services:
📚 Services
- Creation Station makerspace (Glowforge, Cricut, Silhouette Cameo 4, sublimation printer, embroidery machine, heat press, 3D printing on request)
- Tech Table — free one-on-one help with smartphones, tablets & laptops (by appointment)
- Community meeting rooms available for public use
- Bookmobile service county-wide
- Book donations accepted (small amounts anytime; larger donations during scheduled hours)
- Free public computers, printing & Wi-Fi
🎸 Programs
- Book clubs for adults
- Movie matinees
- Maker Mondays — hands-on makerspace programming
- Gaming clubs
- Stitching groups & pottery workshops
- Children's storytime and youth programming
- Computer classes for all skill levels
- BINGO for seniors
📍 Nearby Libraries in Northeastern Pennsylvania
Distances are approximate straight-line miles from this library.
All libraries in Scranton · Browse all Pennsylvania libraries →
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the Albright this library is named after?
The library memorializes Joseph Jacob Albright and his wife Elizabeth Sellers Albright, who donated the family's Vine Street estate to the City of Scranton for library use. Their son, John J. Albright (1848–1931) — a Scranton-born industrialist who later built a fortune in coal, steel, and Niagara Falls hydropower in Buffalo — commissioned the building in 1890 and funded its $125,000 construction as a tribute to his parents. The library opened May 26, 1893.
What can I use in the Creation Station makerspace?
The Creation Station at Albright Memorial Library includes a Glowforge laser cutter (for etching, cutting, and engraving), a Cricut Maker and Cricut Explore (paper crafts, iron-on decals), a Silhouette Cameo 4 (fabric cutting, stickers), a Babylock Flare Embroidery Machine (custom textile designs), a sublimation printer with heat press and oven (transfers onto apparel, mugs, and bags), a Cricut Mug Press, and on-request 3D printing. Email splmaker@albright.org for Glowforge appointments or complab@albright.org for 3D printing inquiries.
Is the Albright Memorial Library building a historic landmark?
Yes. The building was designed by the Buffalo architectural firm Green & Wicks in the French Chateau style, modeled on the Musee de Cluny in Paris, and built with Indiana limestone and Medina sandstone. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1978. The interior retains Mycenaean marble columns, Italian marble fireplaces, quarter-oak woodwork, and stained-glass windows depicting historic book bindings — and the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed grounds were restored to the original 1893 plan in 2001.
Does my Scranton library card work at other Lackawanna County libraries?
Yes. Albright Memorial Library is the flagship of the 10-location Lackawanna County Library System (LCLS). A single LCLS card lets you borrow physically from any member branch — including Carbondale Public Library, Abington Community Library, Taylor Community Library, Dalton Community Library, North Pocono Public Library, and the Valley, Nancy Kay Holmes, and Children's libraries — and gives digital access to the Northeast Pennsylvania Digital Library (Libby/OverDrive), Kanopy streaming, and Pennsylvania's POWER Library.
🔨 This library has a makerspace / 3D printing. See how library makerspaces and 3D printing work and find other libraries with a makerspace makerspaces by state.
🖨 This library offers printing, copying & fax. See how library printing, copying, scanning and fax services work — costs and mobile printing — and find other libraries that offer them printing & fax by state.
✎ Notice something out of date? Suggest a correction and we’ll verify and update it.
✓ Hours & details last verified from official sources in September 2026.