About US

The Kirby Library, the library of Wyoming Seminary’s Upper School located at our Kingston campus, has as its mission to promote student achievement through collaboration with teachers and through recreational reading. The librarians believe in enhancing learning through technology and promoting information literacy by encouraging a critical look at all information, both print and electronic. Through direct services to students, we help them prepare for college and beyond by giving them the tools necessary for academic success, knowing that these same skills will make them lifelong learners confident in their ability to find the right information at the right time. The librarians of the Kirby Library recognizes that the teachers at Wyoming Seminary are our strength, and we support them by being the human face of information. We find and evaluate the best resources to meet their curricular goals, we help plan and implement research and technology projects, and supply and promote the use of appropriate technology equipment to assist teachers in their goal of stellar instruction.

The Kirby Library was inaugurated in 1976, just a few years after the devastating Agnes Flood that profoundly affected the Wyoming Seminary Upper School campus in 1972. Before that disaster, the library of the Upper School resided in the basement of Sprague Hall and was called the Bennett Library in honor of a prominent board member. With the new library opening in the Stettler Learning Resource Center and located safely on the second floor, the decision was made to honor the long-standing association with the Kirby family by naming the library after Mr. F. M. Kirby. In 2008, the Class of 1958, in honor of their 50th reunion, funded a major renovation of the library that honored the place the library now holds on the Upper School campus.

The librarians at the Kirby Library strive to create an environment that is best suited to our students and teachers. We picture the library as a sanctuary in which people can relax, read a magazine, check email, or sit with friends and work on group projects. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to make your time here more productive.