Carbondale Public Library’s Genealogy and Local History Collections

December 23, 2020

Welcome!

The Carbondale Public Library’s Genealogy and Local History Collections contain materials that are related to the people, history, and development of the Greater Carbondale Area as well as our surrounding service areas. The materials in the collections include microfilmed city newspapers dating back into the early 1800s, Carbondale City Directories, local history books, and historical documents pertaining to the area. The library also has access to online databases such as Newspapers.com (local papers only), AncestryLibrary.com, and the Lackawanna County Digital Archives.

Room Hours

The Genealogy and Local History Room is located on the first floor of the Carbondale Public Library and is available to the public the same hours the library is open. For additional assistance, please contact the library to book an appointment.

Purpose

The Carbondale Public Library collects and provides access to a variety of resources that document the history of the City of Carbondale, its residents, government, businesses, institutions, and organizations. Materials related to the local region including Lackawanna County, Carbondale Township, Fell Township, Greenfield Township, and the Boroughs of Jermyn, Mayfield, and Vandling will also be maintained.

Collection Highlights

Carbondale City Directories dating from 1900 until 1993
Yearbooks from area high schools
- Carbondale Area High School (1972-1974, 2009-2012)
- Ben Franklin High School (1941, 1970)
- Sacred Heart (1986-2005)
Local history books pertaining to Carbondale, Lackawanna County, and Pennsylvania. For a list of books available in our local history collection, visit the Lackawanna County Library System’s online catalog. (Under “Shelving Location”, click “Local History”.)
An extensive collection of Vertical Files – a collection of articles, brochures, clippings, etc. that are too small to be cataloged as an individual item.
Microfilm consisting of
- Birth, Marriage, and Death Records for the City of Carbondale
  - Physician’s Certificate of Death and Undertaker Certificates (1890-1894, 1896, 1898-1902)
  - Return of a Death and Return of a Still-Birth Certificates (1890-1891, 1899-1901)
  - Return of a Birth Certificates (1900, 1906)
  - Death Certificates (1906-1912)
  - Return of a Marriage (1903, 1911)
  - Birth Certificates (1910-1912)
- Delaware and Hudson Canal Company blueprints, maps and drawings
- 1860 Federal Census of Luzerne County
- Trinity Episcopal Church Records
Newspapers on Microfilm
- Dundaff Republican and Northeast PA Evening Herald: February 1828-June 3, 1893
- Archbald Citizen: October 1898-May 3, 1911; April 1, 1916-June 17, 1916
- Carbondale Herald, Leader, and News: April 2, 1890; July 1, 1897-December 1897; January 1, 1899-June 30, 1903; January 1, 1904-December 1920; January 1, 1922-December 3, 1932; November 1, 1944-December 31, 1951; July 1, 1952-December 30, 1980
- The Miner: September 7, 1972-July 5, 1973; November 15, 1973-January 16, 1975; January 5, 1976-December 1976; All of 1977, 1978, 1979 and June 10, 1980

Other Resources

Several libraries in the Lackawanna County Library System have their own genealogy and local history collections. For more information, check out the library system’s online genealogy page.

Contact Us

Telephone: 570-282-4281

Online Request Form: https://lclshome.org/genealogy/

Library History

On May 9^th, 1874, the “Young Men’s Library Association” was opened in a room on the second floor of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company’s railroad office on North Main St. It is the oldest public library in Lackawanna County (and is older than the county itself which was created on August 13, 1878.)

However, by 1895 the library had already outgrown its space and was moved to the southeast corner of the main floor of Carbondale’s City Hall building. In 1935, an additional room was also made available for the library. This would remain the home of the Carbondale Public Library until 1966.

Thanks to a generous donation by the Hillman Land Co., the library received its own building and moved into the former Bell Telephone Company office on 6^th Avenue. in Carbondale. After more than 30 years on 6^th Avenue, the library moved back to Main Street. This time, however, a new building was designed to accommodate the ever-expanding role the library played in the community. After much anticipation, the library reopened at its current location in October of 1996.

This page was last updated 7-10-2025.